A Complete 180
by Uzumaki-sama
Summary: Sora's childhood sweetheart suddenly moves back to the island, and 'she' isn't quite what he remembers...in more ways than one. During a crazy summer of odd friendships and high fashion, Sora struggles to find his identity in a conformist world. RikuSora
1. Ch 1: A Not so familiar Face

_Author's Notes:_

This fanfic was inspired by two manga: "Summer Has Come Again" by Kazusa Takashima, and "Love is Always Like a Storm" chapter "I Guess I Love You After All!" by Tokiya Shimazaki. While the idea stemmed from these manga, that was only the beginning. I gather other ideas for this fic from other stories, but I will always give credit where due. That said, this is also more than just a cutesy, fluffy romance. It will get its conflict, too.

Even though at times this may seem a bit odd, and even though it may seem this fanfic is centering around a non-slash couple, it's not! This fanfic is Riku/Sora, which means two **boys** in a romantic relationship. So remember that as you read. :D

* * *

_**Chapter One: A Not-so-familiar Face**_

-o-o-

Tap. Tap. Klunk. Scriiiiitch.

_"I'm sorry, Sora. I just... I never thought of you like that. You're a really good friend, but that's it."_

A wry grin twitched at the corners of his mouth as he dragged a shell across the wooden plank, not really concentrating on what he was doing as his mind was swirling with thoughts of the conversation he had just had a few minutes ago. The shell in his hand hadn't done anything to deserve its punishment, but its porcelain surface was easy to grasp, and it provided Sora with something sharp to vent his frustration.

_Klunk._

With another stab, he slid the shell down, carving into the old, sea-worn wood of the dock, easing some of that hopeless disappointment away. Hah. So much for wooing Kairi. So much for his so-called love life!

He shouldn't have acted so surprised. He should have been used to this by now.

_"A really good... friend...?"_

_"There are other girls on the island, Sora. Surely I wasn't your last choice."_

Ha. Haha. Funny, Kairi.

"You were my _only_ choice!" Sora yelled as he lifted his head, suddenly grasping the yellow-pink shell tightly before flinging it off the dock into the gray ocean. "The other girls already have boyfriends!" He glared after it, watching it helplessly spin through the air, feeling a bit of satisfaction as though his humiliation had been the shell. Too bad he couldn't discard his feelings as easily as that.

The shell made a soft _ploop_ as it hit the calm surface of the water and sank, leaving Sora with nothing in his hands to grasp but his own skin. So he did. Clenching and unclenching his fists, he fought back another angry pout, the cool sea breeze causing him to squint as he stared off into the dark horizon.

It was true. Sora had no luck with girls. Today he had worked his courage up to ask Kairi out, as they were already "good" friends and he figured she was nice enough not to turn him down. But she had. Everyone did. Kairi had never even considered Sora as anything more than a friend, nor was it likely she would in the near future.

Granted, Sora also didn't like Kairi in _that_ way, but in his eighteen years, he had never had a girlfriend. He hadn't been too caught up in girls when he had been in school, but now that he had graduated, he was getting lonely and bored. Wasn't it about time to start experimenting? Everyone _else_ had someone but him. No. He was the boy-next-door they all asked for advice from or counted on to keep a secret. He wasn't the dating type, apparently.

_I should have been born on a different island,_ Sora grumbled to himself. His island was a small community with only a few girls his age, and if he wanted to date someone who wasn't like a sister to him, he'd have to use the ferry to visit the other small islands nearby. If only he had enough money to go to the main land... Certainly there would be more than ten girls there, right? _But even there, I would probably only be a "good friend" to them..._

Was it that he was too nice?

With a weary sigh, Sora turned his gaze up to the evening sky and smiled sadly. It was getting late. No doubt dinner was getting cold and his mother was pacing frantically, worrying about him. If Sora had learned anything from being a "good friend" with girls all his life, it was that they all worried way too much. Over the years, they had told him all he'd ever wanted (and didn't want) to know about girls' lives—makeup, periods, clothes, hair styles, boys—and it was just about enough to make him give up on them completely. That actually wasn't a bad idea.

Did he really want a girlfriend? Did he want some girl to complain and always rant at him about trivial stuff? Did he want some girl to hang all over him or try to hold hands with him in public? Did he want some girl to expect a present from him every time he saw her? Did he want to run to some girl's side every time she was depressed or hurt, and try to console her? Did he really want all that drama in his life?

What had he been thinking, wanting a girlfriend so badly?

He didn't want those kind of complications. He wanted a girl who wanted _him_, who wouldn't make things complicated. If looking for one hadn't worked, maybe he could just wait for her to come to _him_ instead. Yeah. That was a good idea. That way he wouldn't have to worry like a girl all the time! It might take eighteen more years of his life, but at least he wouldn't be wasting his time chasing after hopeless romances.

He wanted a girl that would appreciate him for who he was, not someone who would tell him to stop playing video games all the time, stop making up stupid adventure stories, stop eating so much unhealthy junk food...

Food.

At the thought of food, his stomach twitched and then fell into a long rumble. Remembering yet again that food was waiting for him at home, Sora sighed in resignation, giving into his hunger. The old wood creaked beneath his feet as he stood and stretched his tired muscles, pausing with his arms behind his head to scratch his neck and yawn.

The day had been long and horrible and Sora didn't ever want to relive it. He'd rather throw himself off the dock and get picked apart by crabs until he died. Hm. But not until he ate first.

Forcing a smile onto his face, Sora spun on his heel and strode down the dock to the street, his eyes focusing on the line of small businesses nearby. His island was a small, conservative but friendly community, and just about everyone knew each other. Homes were cozy hovels with relatively small yards. Downstairs usually had the kitchen and living areas, and upstairs housed the bedrooms, generally with large windows facing the ocean or a house next door. Large porches, sheer curtains and vine trellises were common in most of the homes, and the street was made of cobblestone that was never too warm or cool during the day. Actually, it was more like a giant sidewalk since vehicles were uncommon on non-commercial islands like his where they got most of their electronics and entertainment shipped in on the ferry, or did their shopping a few islands over. Mostly everyone walked where they needed to go. Sora loved his island, he really did, but there was something about it that he absolutely abhorred.

The loneliness.

Even though he could name everyone on the street, they weren't his friends. Just because Kairi and the other girls dragged him along on their get-togethers, it didn't make him part of their group. Just because Tidus and Wakka and all the other blitzball fanatics let him join their games, it didn't make him one of them. He didn't have any close friends. He didn't have anyone to confide in, gossip with, or cry over. He was lonely.

Which was why he had tried for the past few months to muster up the courage to get a girlfriend. So much _that_ had done him. What a failure.

Forcing back a pout, he remembered he had just resolved to remain single until the perfect girl found him. He could just be himself until that happened.

Sora crossed the street, absent-mindedly kicking at a loose stone along the way and pretending it was some cursed artifact he couldn't touch with his hands, but had to move it away from the street before it could raise zombies from the sewers, being the cursed artifact that it was.

Kinda like blitzball for his feet. He kicked the stone left with his right foot, quickly catching up to it and stopping it with his left foot before kicking it again, only to catch up to it and send it skittering across the cobblestone once again.

He was so caught up in discarding the "cursed artifact" with his feet that when he gave it a final, powerful kick and sent it hurtling through the air, he didn't see the moving van parked in front of the house across from his (where he had aimed) until it was too late. With a heavy _thunk_, the stone hit the metal side of the van, leaving a sizeable dent, and then dropped to the ground like, well, a rock. He visibly cringed as the sound cut through the silent night air, probably waking up anyone who had been asleep.

And that dent didn't look too good.

Well, what the hell was a van doing parked there anyway? Wasn't this house empty?

Sora suddenly blinked.

Empty house. Moving van.

Someone was moving in? Across the street in front of his house?

But... nobody moved to the outer islands. People always moved to the more industrial islands where there was more work and money involved. Who would want to move to an island as boring as this one?

In any case, his cursed artifact had been discarded of, so he figured he should also remove the evidence, namely himself, before someone came to investigate the loud noise he had made when violating the expensive vehicle. Taking one last look at the house and wondering what his new neighbor would be like, Sora turned and ran up the porch to his home, opened the door, and slid inside.

Almost immediately his mom's voice wafted in from the kitchen, sounding warm and happy as usual.

"Hey, honey! Your dinner is on the stove," she called. "I ate without you since you took so long coming home."

"Ah, sorry, Mom. I was talking with Kairi," he explained as he pulled off his shoes and tossed them onto the floor of the hall. He cautiously raised his nose and sniffed the air. Hm... Smelled like fish for dinner again. Then again, they did live on an island.

His mother suddenly peeked her head out of the kitchen and, seeing him standing there in the hallway, stepped out to meet him, her arms folding across her paopu-patterned cooking apron.

"Talking with Kairi, huh? Must have been a long, important talk," she mused, a strange grin crossing her face. "So, what did ya talk about?"

Ugh. His mother was just like _them_. Always so nosey. And girly. Why didn't she act more like a mother? Well, with her long brown hair and large blue eyes, she looked young enough to be his older sister, but that didn't mean she had to act like it.

"Stuff."

His mother stared at him, an unconvinced smirk spreading across the grin already there. "You talked about stuff?" When she spoke, it had an obvious hint of sarcasm, as though she knew what had really been said between him and Kairi. She probably did know. It was one of her strange talents as his mother---no matter what he said when he lied or bent the truth, she could figure out his true meaning.

"Yeah," Sora replied, resting a hand on the stair banister, getting ready to climb up to his room. "I'll eat after I get changed."

"Well, Kairi's a nice girl," his mom said as he began to ascend the stairs, her voice tinged with knowing innocence, "but I don't think she's your type, Sora honey,"

Sora froze in mid-step and sighed, turning back to face her with a half-scowl. "So you know..."

"I can tell just by looking at you," she laughed, closing the distance between them and reaching forward to ruffle his already messy hair. He didn't bother trying to escape her attack. But what she said next definitely caught his attention. "But don't feel bad. Our new neighbors are girls."

Sora raised his head, blinking up at her with curious blue eyes. The new neighbors! "Girls?" he echoed, innocently tilting his head to let her know he was interested.

"Yeah," his mom replied as she turned back towards the kitchen, raising one hand in a casual manner. "You remember your old friend Riku?"

Wait a minute...! Riku? She was back? Sora felt his heart skip in excitement.

The house across the street had been empty ever since Riku's parents had died in a freak boating accident, and she had been taken by her aunt to live on one of the main islands and attend a private school. Riku's parents had always wanted her to attend that school, but they hadn't had the money. But from their deaths, Riku had received enough compensation from the insurance to move there and go to that school, and her aunt had whisked her away almost immediately. All that money... Why would Riku be returning now?

"Anyway," his mother continued as she headed back towards the kitchen, running her hands along the wall, "Riku's aunt came and visited me today and said that Riku would be moving back in. Riku's supposed to arrive tomorrow morning, so why don't you stop by and welcome her back?" She stopped in the kitchen archway, turning to look back over at Sora, who was still trying to soak in the news, and grinned again. "The two of you used to be so funny to watch on your little adventures, with her always trying to protect you, but you would end up being the one saving her from being picked on. It'll be nice seeing her again." That said, she disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Sora standing there on the stairs.

That was the end of the conversation, but not the end of Sora's thoughts as he headed upstairs and collapsed onto his messy bed, a couple of magazines tumbling onto the floor from his weight. He ignored them and, tucking his hands beneath his head, he grinned just as his mother had.

Riku was coming back! How many years had it been since Sora had last seen his best friend?

Despite the protests of his hungry stomach, he couldn't help thinking back to those days. He had been about seven, making that nearly eleven years ago. But even over an entire decade, Sora could still remember his friend's cute face.

-o-o-

_"Lil crybaby! Wahh, waah!"_

_"Look at the way Riku cries!"_

_"What a girl!"_

_"Leave me –sniff– alone!"_

_"Haha! Crybaby!"_

_Sora had left Riku alone on the beach to go buy some canned drinks, and in those five minutes he had been gone, four ten-year-old boys had managed to corner her and make her cry. He heard the taunting and sniffing long before he saw them, and, dropping the drinks, he took off into a sprint, anger fueling him. _

_How dare those jerks always taunt Riku! She couldn't stand up for herself because of her smaller size, and they knew it, but they always found some sort of sick humor out of making her cry. Just because they were older, bigger, and were about to go to junior high... _

_Riku herself was a grade higher than Sora, but because she was small, they saw each other as equals, and Sora frequently got her out of skirmishes. Like now._

_Letting out a prepubescent war cry, Sora vaulted himself over the makeshift wooden fence where they had cornered Riku and fell onto his first target, one of the taller boys, and wrestled him to the ground, pulling at greasy hair and throwing wild punches._

_"ARGH! Get him off me!!"_

_"It's that brat Sora!" one of them cried._

_"Sora's come to save his _girl_friend!" another of them sneered._

_As soon as his first victim began to cry out and cover his face, Sora clambered to his feet and threw himself at the next older boy, landing a powerful punch square in the jaw. So what if they were older than him! So what if their parents punished him for beating the snot out of them! They had been picking on Riku again, and no beating could do justice for making her cry, but Sora was sure going to try to give it to them!_

_In the next minute, the four boys were retreating, yelling useless threats at Sora as they fled. He grinned, musing that, after that beating, they didn't have any tails left to tuck behind their legs in defeat. _

_"S-Sora..." _

_Upon hearing her small, scared voice, Sora wiped the grin off his face and spun around to face Riku, who was still sniffing. _

_"You're g-going to get in trouble... Their folks..."_

_"I don't care," Sora interrupted, putting on serious look as he knelt in front of his friend and leaned forward. He was still trying to catch his breath from running and fighting so hard, but he forced the words out anyway. "They were picking on you! If I get in trouble, it'll be worth it."_

_"But..." Riku's eyes began to fill with tears, her bottom lip trembling as she stared at him._

_Sora quickly reached out and ruffled her messy silver hair, smiling brightly as he said, "Don't cry. You know I hate it when you cry. And besides, I thought you wanted to be more like a boy? Boys don't cry."_

_At this, Riku managed a small smile in return, her bright green eyes shimmering from unshed tears._

_Sora fell into a happy grin, mussing her hair again. "Your eyes are so weird," he commented lightly. "And your hair too."_

_"Sorry..."_

_"Ah, don't be sorry about it! I love them!" Sora said, and Riku giggled quietly, knowing what was coming: another one of Sora's weird stories. "Your eyes are like... I dunno. Rare jewels. Yeah! Like the ones in the stories my mom always tells us! And they can be found only at the deepest, darkest places in the ocean. The mermaids found them, and they also gave you your weird hair."_

_"Mermaids, huh...?" Riku said softly, her smile shy, but happy. "You're the weird one, you goof..."_

_"We're both weird then."_

_"But I wish I was like you..." Riku admitted, lowering those pretty eyes. "Strong and happy... And open about what you think. Everyone likes you. No one would pick on you..."_

_"Then I'll help you get stronger!" Sora laughed, gesturing widely with his arms. "I'll make you the strongest warrior on the islands! Besides myself, of course. And then we'll get married and no one will be able to pick on you again."_

_"You goof..." Riku lightly laughed. "We can't get married. We're—"_

_"Friends, I know," Sora interrupted, waving a hand dismissively. "But I don't like anyone else, so it has to be you."_

_Riku just smiled._

-o-o-

She had been so adorable back then. Even though Riku was older than him by a year (what would she look like now, all grown up? probably a total babe!), she had been as small as him, and had acted as his equal. After that particular day, Sora began dragging her with him and training her, and as a result, Riku began to get into as much trouble as he did with their crazy antics. Of course Sora had teased her and called her girly, even though she rarely acted girly, only when she cried when she was teased by all the boys. Riku had always smiled at his teasing, not like when the other boys teased her, and later when Sora wasn't looking, she would strike revenge by tickling him, always attacking from behind. She had been devious like that.

She had been his best friend, and he had loved playing with her. And if she had really moved back... Well, she was it! That "perfect girl" Sora had been thinking about waiting for was, he now realized, actually everything Riku had been from his childhood. Riku had understood him, she had done the things he had done. Surely their friendship would be the same, even after more than a decade of separation.

Well... maybe not the same.

Sora rolled off his bed and to his feet, shuffling towards his dresser to get changed as he remembered the last day he had spent with his best friend.

-o-o-

_"Sora?"_

_"Hm?"_

_Sora glanced up from his fishing line to find Riku staring at him with those soft eyes. The stare was strange, no shyness hidden there, and Sora was, for the first time, taken by surprise at how much like him she had become. Returning her stare with a smile, he began reeling his fishing line in, waiting for her to speak again. When she did, he nearly dropped his pole off the dock._

_"Can I kiss you?"_

_Sora felt his eyes widening in surprise. "Kiss me? Well..."_

_"I know... It's weird... but..." Riku suddenly began stuttering, true to her old self, lowering her gaze and lightly blushing. "But... I saw some of the bigger kids doing it... And I was curious about what it felt like."_

_He stared at her for a moment in silence and then laughed, leaning towards her and messing up her hair like he always did. Who was he to deny anything from his best friend? Not wanting to see her saddened, and because he too had become curious now that she had suggested it, Sora smiled._

_"Okay."_

_Riku's eyes lifted back to his, took in his smile, and then shyly lowered again as she smiled back. "Really?"_

_"Yeah! How else are we going to learn? Look up." Raising her head, she blushed further as he leaned closer and blinked a few times, wondering just how to go about this kissing business. He was only seven, after all. "Erm... Maybe you should close your eyes and push your chin up. Or something."_

_To his surprise, she didn't do as he told. Instead, her eyes narrowed a bit, and she frowned._

_"You goof! __**I**__ want to kiss __**you**__."_

_"O-Oh," Sora stammered, and then took a deep breath to calm himself. She looked so cute like that, with her large eyes all serious and demanding, her silver hair framing her face, and a huge baggy shirt and a pair of boy's swimming trunks hiding her girl figure. She looked so boyish, but he loved the look on her. "Alright."_

_Slowly his eyes fell closed and he tilted his head towards her, feeling slightly foolish. Weren't guys supposed to kiss girls, not the other way around...? Her request was a little strange, but he wouldn't deny it from her._

_He had waited perhaps five seconds before he felt her hands resting on his knees for support as she leaned into him, her breath warm against his cheeks. A bit surprised that she was taking such a dominant stance, he wasn't mentally prepared when her lips finally pressed against his._

-o-o-

It had just been a peck, now that he recalled, but it was still his first kiss. It hadn't lasted long, for that was when Riku's aunt had found them, and had dragged her away from him and delivered the bad news that her parents had died. The bad news that Riku had to move to one of the main islands and attend a private school. The bad news that Riku had to leave Sora.

Riku had cried and cried, but not just because of her parents' deaths. A lot of that crying and that pleading had been because she hadn't wanted to leave. She had wanted to stay with Sora.

When her aunt had carried her away, Sora had just stood there, watching his friendship crumble. Only when they had disappeared from his sight did he realize what had happened. But that hadn't been the last time he had seen her.

Sora smiled sadly, recalling the worst moment of his life as he slipped on his night shirt and stepped into the hall to return downstairs for dinner.

-o-o-

_"Stop! S-Stop the boat!"_

_He stumbled on a loose rock as he ran, trying to keep his balance as the ferry began to gain speed. The ferry that was taking Riku away from him. Gritting his teeth, Sora forced his legs to run faster down the sea wall alongside the departing ferry._

_"Please, stop!!" he cried, ignoring the waves crashing against the wall and spraying him. He wasn't loud enough over the sound of the ocean. He had to try again. Choking back helpless tears (boys don't cry, boys don't cry!), he screamed, "__**Stop the ferry**__!! Don't take Riku away! Come back!!"_

_His muscles were beginning to feel heavy, he could feel his lungs burning and his heart hammering in his chest from his effort. He ignored that too, and instead ran faster, leaping over dangerous cracks in the old cement of the wall._

_Just when he began to think his pleas were unheard, he saw a flash of white hair and green eyes at the back of the ferry. He focused on Riku's figure struggling against her aunt, tears rolling down her cheeks and wetting her hair as she cried. She was leaning over the railing, her arms stretched out towards him as her aunt tried to pull her back._

_"Sora! I don't wanna go!! __**Sora**__!"_

_"Riku!!"_

_He felt his own tears finally escaping and he bit back a growl. They weren't stopping the ferry. He couldn't run much farther... and the sea wall would be ending soon. It would be over too soon. He wouldn't see Riku again. Riku wouldn't get to call him a goof or laugh at him anymore..._

_No. He would. He would see her again! He would go to her, or he'd wait for her to come back to him!_

_"Riku!! Listen to me!!" he cried as he stumbled again. "__**Don't you dare kiss any boys except me!**__"_

_And with that said, he collapsed onto the hard cement as he legs gave out and the ferry sped away, Riku's green eyes fading into the distance._

-o-o-

Haha.

It had been depressing as hell for Sora at the time because his best friend had just suddenly been shipped out of his life, but now that he thought back on it, the two of them had been rather foolish, thinking that their friendship and little adventures were more important than the death of Riku's family and her education. Sora had actually thought that by chasing after that boat, it would have stopped and given Riku back to him. Romantic, but stupid. Well, he had been only seven. What was he supposed to know?

But Sora's first kiss had gone to that little girl, and now that little girl was moving back. Tomorrow.

Again, as he smiled at his mom and sat at the kitchen table to eat, he couldn't help wondering what she would look like now.

She would never have dyed that beautiful silver hair of hers, so maybe it was really long by now... Back then, she had kept it a little past her shoulders, and had never pulled it back out of her face, so a lot of times her hair had gotten really dirty during their play adventures. But she had looked so cute with her toothy grin, mud smeared across her cheeks and her hair looking like a bird nest made out of fishing line. Of course, if it was still long, it would probably be well-groomed, if she had attended that private school as planned.

Wait. Private school.

Maybe she had turned into a snooty rich little school girl during the eleven years without Sora's influence. Maybe... Maybe she had forgotten all about Sora?!

Nah. That was unlikely. Riku would probably be just as excited to see him.

Those pretty eyes of hers were probably as bright as he remembered, too. And her body... Since she was a year older than Kairi, no doubt her body was better than hers. Probably tall... lean... strong. Maybe she played some sports at that school? But she wouldn't be overly muscular. Definitely curvy. Slim waist, nice hips...

Hm. Breasts.

Now that was an interesting notion. As soon as Sora tried to think of what kind of breasts he would like on his ideal girl, he couldn't decide. He heard from other guys what kind of girls they liked, and how great their "boobs" looked and such, but Sora didn't really find himself that thrilled about them.

What was so great about a girl's breasts? They would probably get in the way all the time.

Sora frowned.

This was hard.

Ah, skip the boob part. Other than that, Sora was pleased with what he thought Riku might look like now.

That night as he snuggled into bed, he smiled, clutching a pillow to his chest like a love-struck girl. Sora wasn't the cutest single guy on the island, but he had a head-start wooing Riku.

Maybe he had a chance at love after all.

Sitting up and throwing the pillow across the room, he nodded in determination. Tomorrow he was going to go see Riku, like his mom had suggested.

-o-o-

"Mo-om!! Have you seen my black shorts?!"

"No, honey."

There was a few seconds of silence.

"Mo-om!! Where's my blue and white jacket?!"

"In the dirty laundry, honey," Sora's mother replied, peeking her head into her son's bedroom. She blinked, taking in the clothes-strewn floor and emptied dresser and closet. Sora was sitting in the middle of the mess, a pair of boxers hanging off his wet head and another pair loosely hanging onto his hips. It was the only thing he was wearing after his two-minute shower (she had timed it), and his body was dripping water onto the clothes nearest to him. His room, plainly put, looked like a department store after a tornado. "Do you need any help?" she asked, raising a single eyebrow and managing a wry smile.

"Yeah," Sora said gruffly, grabbing the boxers on his head and throwing them onto the floor too. "Just what do you wear to impress a girl after eleven years of separation?"

"Well, a tuxedo would be trying to impress Riku's aunt, not her... I don't know, Sora," she sighed, keeping that smile on her face. "Show off some skin, but be yourself. Girls like that."

Sora lowered his eyes to the floor to study the clothes around him. "But..."

"I want you out of the house in three minutes, or I'm getting the spatula."

Sora looked up, his blue eyes widening. "You wouldn't!"

She grinned. "Oh yes I would. Get dressed. _Now_."

Fearing the wrath of his mother and her spatula, Sora began scrambling around the piles of clothes for an outfit. Three shirts, two pairs of pants, four pairs of shorts, and three pairs of sandals later, Sora was practically flying down the stairs to escape his giggling mother. As soon as he was out the door, he took a moment to catch his breath and look over the clothes he had ended up in. Nothing impressive, as he had hoped; it was just a slightly small red shirt that showed off his arms and midriff, a baggy pair of black shorts, his lucky crown chain attached, and a pair of beach sandals.

Though he probably looked like a dork, he felt alright. Perhaps a little gay. Well. So he won't impress Riku. Maybe she'll laugh at him and it'll be like old times again.

Feeling a little better about himself, Sora ran his fingers through his still-wet hair (blah. Limp spikes... definitely not attractive-looking) and turned his gaze towards the house across the street. The van was still there, and so was the dent from last night, but now the back of it was open and inside were boxes of stuff. There was no sign of any people moving them though, which meant that Riku and her aunt were alone with their task of moving.

Great! Maybe Sora could help them unload the boxes!

Practically dancing with excitement as he ran, he crossed the street and climbed the steps to the porch, and was about to raise his fist to knock when the door swung open. Sora blinked in surprise, and a middle-aged woman with blonde hair blinked back. There was a moment of silence, and then the woman's eyebrows rose in understanding.

"You're Sora."

He managed a smile that he hoped didn't look too resentful or bitter from eleven years ago when she had dragged Riku away from him. "Yup. Is Riku home yet?"

The woman smiled kindly, and Sora almost felt bad about feeling so negative towards her. "Riku's upstairs cleaning. Take one of the boxes marked 'stuff' when you go up. It's the last room on the right," she said, stepping aside to let him in. "Riku will be glad to see you again."

Sora grinned in response, lifting one of the 'stuff' boxes scattered around the floor of the hallway as he turned towards the stairway. "I hope so! I'm glad you guys moved back!" he called as he began to climb the steps.

The box was awfully heavy, so when he got to the top, Sora took a moment to set it down and open it. He was relieved to see it was full of video games and comic books, many that Sora himself enjoyed. Certainly Riku's aunt didn't enjoy it, so the items in the box had to belong to Riku herself, which mean that she had managed to maintain the same interests as Sora, even after eleven years.

Feeling his heart begin to race in excitement, Sora lifted the box again and hurried down the hall to the correct room, eager to see his friend again. Upstairs was a stifling hot, and Sora almost had trouble breathing as he carried the box. They must not have gotten the air conditioner working yet... That would explain the almost unbearable heat.

"Hey, Riku!" he called ahead as he stepped into the doorway, the box cradled in his arms. He planted a bright smile on his face, already flushed from the heat. "It's me, Sor--- Ah!"

He froze. The smile fell, and so did the box in his arms. It crashed to the wooden floor and a loud _thud_ reverberated throughout the large, empty hot room.

A figure's back straightened from where it had been crouching before and it turned to face Sora, lips curved into an amused smile. Familiar silver hair fell to bare shoulders, sending beads of sweat rolling down a lean, muscular chest. A pair of loose drawstring khakis were the only thing the figure was wearing, giving Sora a perfect view of the body he had been dreaming about. Tall... lean... strong, but not overly muscular. Definitely curvy. Slim waist, nice hips...

No boobs. No, it was a nice... _really nice_... flat chest.

Familiar green eyes smiled at Sora, and an undoubtedly masculine voice filled the warm air.

"You goof," Riku sighed as he ran a hand through his damp silver hair, those pretty eyes shining with silent laughter. "You should be more careful with other people's stuff, Sora."

Sora promptly blushed, threw his hand out to point accusingly at Riku, and screamed, "Since when are you a **guy**!"

A single silver eyebrow rose in surprise, a smirk crossing Riku's handsome face. "You never saw me wearing any sundresses, did you?"

And as those words sank in, Sora's last chance at love and the little girl in his memory became something completely different.

-o-o-

* * *

_To be continued..._


	2. Ch 2: Barechested Rich Boy

_Author's Notes:_

I'd like to thank all of you who reviewed! I was so pleased with all the responses. I wasn't sure what people were going to think of my creative liberties at the beginning by calling Riku a girl... when he's so obviously not.

* * *

_**  
Chapter Two: Bare-chested Rich Boy**_

-o-o-

"Since when are you a **guy**?!"

A single silver eyebrow rose in surprise, a smirk crossing Riku's handsome face. "You never saw me wearing any sundresses, did you?"

And as those words sank in, Sora's last chance at love and the little girl in his memory became something completely different. He took a moment to gawk and blink in disbelief, and during those few seconds, Riku's smirk faded into a solemn frown as he studied Sora's reaction.

"You mean," he began, his eyebrows drawing together as he spoke, "you actually thought I was a girl all these years?"

Sora's reply was immediate. "_Yes_!"

"I can't believe you're that dense," Riku forcefully sighed, his muscles tensing as he raked a hand through his hair and turned his green eyes to stare out the large window he was standing in front of.

A thick silence filled the warm air. Sora remained standing where he had dropped the box he had carried up, his wide blue eyes still trying to take in this new Riku before him. No, not new Riku... He (not she) had always been a boy? All those times when they went swimming, why didn't Sora ever wonder why 'she' wore swimming trunks, not a bathing suit? All those times when Riku was being picked on, why didn't Sora realize those boys were calling Riku a girl not because he was a girl, but because he was a _boy_?

This gorgeous, sweat-covered, half-naked epitome of all things sexy and perfect was _his_ Riku?

And he was a **boy**?!

When Riku turned back around, Sora was still staring, his face filled with the kind of look a person has when he realizes that, for one, all of his memories of his childhood sweetheart were a lie; for two, his first kiss had been with a boy; for three, his love life was totally screwed over; for four, he found that the grown-up version of the boy was attractive; and for five, he was having indecent thoughts about that aforementioned grown-up version of the boy.

Thankfully, Riku didn't recognize the strange look on Sora's face, nor could he read minds, so Sora was safe from any interrogation. But something in Riku had changed; he seemed to have lost that spark or whatever it was he had when he had first greeted Sora with that tease about dropping the box. Now he looked disheartened as though his own hopes had just been crushed, just like Sora's hopes of ever finding a girlfriend had.

_He has no reason to look so depressed!_ Sora silently huffed. _It's not like __**his**__ childhood sweetheart turned out to be a guy. Wait. I __**am**__ a guy. Then..._

"I used to be mistaken as a girl all the time back then," Riku said quietly, but even then it broke through Sora's thoughts before he could think any further. Sora opened his mouth to apologize, or say something at least to wipe that defeated look off Riku's face, but the older boy spoke again before he could. Raising his eyes to meet Sora's, he sighed, "So I don't blame you. It's not like I was trying to keep my gender a secret, but I didn't really flaunt it around either."

"Why not?" Sora asked, almost demanding.

Riku's eyes turned towards the window, wistful. "I guess I liked being seen as a boyish girl more than a girly boy. I didn't like being teased about how I looked, but when you did it, it was okay." He suddenly smiled again, a pure, light smile. "I guess it was because you were Sora, and nothing you ever said was bad."

That's right. Riku had never cried when Sora had teased him about being weak or girly. Sora almost found himself smiling back, but he caught himself just in time. If he smiled now, Riku would probably think he was a jerk. After all, he had just admitted that he hadn't truly known his best friend all along.

His eyes lowering in apology, he sighed, "I'm sorry for overreacting like that, Riku. I must seem like an asshole who only liked you because you were a girl."

"A little," Riku admitted, grinning at the appalled look Sora suddenly gave him for his blatant honesty. "But I can see how I gave you such a shock, so I forgive you. And I apologize for being such a disappointment to you. You must have come here, expecting me to be the same old Riku, ready to woo me."

Geh. So Riku had seen right through it!

"Well," Sora said, managing a short, silly laugh as he rubbed the back of his head, wondering how Riku had read him so well, "you haven't really changed... Except the whole crybaby girl, shorter-than-me and really adorable face things."

Riku raised an eyebrow at that as though he didn't really believe Sora, his grin spreading. "Really? Well you're the same Sora from ten years ago..."

"Eleven," Sora immediately corrected, unable to stop himself, and then blinked as Riku suddenly started laughing.

And it wasn't just any snicker or giggle, it was true laughter, his sharp, mature voice ringing almost musically in the hot, humid air. One hand went to cover his eyes and the other went to clutch at his stomach as he slumped forward, still laughing. Sora, for the life of him, didn't see what was so funny. But after a long moment, Riku finally fell into a series of short, breathless chuckles, his green eyes glistening with happy tears as he removed his hand.

"Eleven," he said, grinning. "You counted, too."

Sora smiled back, and for the first time since entering the room, he thought that perhaps this change in Riku wasn't so bad after all. No, he was rather glad his old friend could still so shamelessly laugh with him. And even though Riku wasn't a girl, Sora had a feeling that his friendship with him wouldn't weaken any; actually, he was confident that it would strengthen, now that they were full grown and both bachelors and living on a small island with nothing to do.

Wait. _Was_ Riku single?

Wait. Why did it matter?

For some reason, he had a feeling he wasn't curious about it just because he didn't want to be the only loser without a girlfriend... It was more like... Jealousy. But of whom? Riku? Or his possible girlfriend?

Sora brushed the feeling off as a friend's green envy. After all, if Riku did have a girlfriend, that meant he wouldn't get to spend all of his time with Sora, but had to spend it with _her_ too. Sora would have to share.

Wait. Why did _that_ matter?

_Because he was, and will again be my best friend!_ Sora assured himself, nodding in confidence. _And I'll finally have someone!_

Too caught up in his thoughts, Sora didn't notice that Riku had gone back to crouching on the floor until he heard the older boy loudly sigh, followed by the sound of wood sliding against wood. Sora turned his gaze back to his old friend, who was actually inserting drawers to an antique dresser and then stuffing them with clothes before pushing them closed.

Sora took a moment to glance around the room, tilting his head as he inspected it. It was rather empty, though Sora didn't understand why. The rest of the house still had furniture, even though it was all still covered, which was a standard way to protect valuables from dust and sun over long periods of time. But this room, aside from the few boxes that were already up here, and a frameless mattress and the dresser, was empty. The large window in the center of the room didn't even have a curtain. Sora mused that maybe this room had been a spare or something, considering only Riku and his two parents had lived here before, and it was way too big for just a three-person family. Hm. But if this room was a spare, why was Riku settling into this room, instead of using his old room from when he was a kid?

Actually, this whole house was weird. Out of all of the hovels on the street, Riku's old home was the only one that could actually be called a house, and it was quite large at that, about five times the size of Sora's. Maybe more. After Riku's parents had died, and after Riku had been dragged away, the house had been cleaned and locked up, and over the years Sora had found himself wondering why it hadn't been sold. He realized, now, that Riku's parents had probably left it to Riku in their will, and he was coming back to claim it. Or something. It was kind of a waste though... Just Riku and his aunt living in this huge, old house. No wonder Riku had gone outside so much with Sora when they had been little; who would want to stay cooped up in such a creepy place?

Sora took a moment to glance up at the beams over head before he blinked over at Riku, who was almost done with the dresser. "Um..."

Riku glanced up, his eyes partly hidden in the shadows created by the furniture. He briefly smiled before turning his attention back to the dresser, stooping over to reach the lower drawers, unknowingly giving Sora a nice view of the muscles of his back and the curve of his spine, down to his... Er. Yeah.

Sora looked away, puckering his lips before he could think anything weird or say something stupid. Thankfully, Riku spoke, breaking the silence.

"How long are you planning on staying here?"

"Oh... Um... As long as I want."

Riku looked up again, resting one hand on the dresser for support as he straightened his back and turned a little to face Sora again. The way he moved was awfully graceful... a lot like a girl, actually, but without all the soft curves. And the way his silver hair filtered the morning light into shadow as he sat there in front of the window... He seemed almost ethereal.

Riku fell into a warm smile. "Good. You can help me unpack and move furniture," he said, the smile spreading into a wry grin as he went back to the dresser. "I scheduled my helpers to come later so I'd have some time alone with you."

Sora promptly blinked. "You knew I would come?"

"Well, yeah," he said with a chuckle, "like you're the only one who understood me, I'm one of the only people that understood you. That's why I didn't look surprised when you showed up."

Brow furrowing, Sora crossed the floor to stand next to Riku, saying, "But I _don't_ understand you. I'm the one who thought you were a girl."

"No, you understood me," Riku replied, shaking his head as he closed another drawer. "You saw me as a girl because that was the image I projected... Sort of like my shell to hide in. But you understood that I hated it, that I wanted to become more like you, and that's why you helped me become stronger back then."

"Wow." Sora fell into another smile. "You're really smart. I mean, you were smart before, but now..."

"Well, unfortunately I'm not psychic nor am I equipped with internal radar," Riku laughed, "so I'm going to need your help meeting people and setting up my job. I only remember so much from back then, and the structure of the town isn't part of it." He glanced up yet again from his work to seek Sora's response, and Sora took only a second to think about it, giving Riku a toothy grin.

"Of course I'll help!"

"Good. You can start by bringing up all the boxes labeled 'stuff' from downstairs. Then tomorrow we can do renovations and after that there's gardening, decorating, shopping..."

"Hey, hey!" Sora cut in, his eyes wide. "I'm not getting paid for all this, am I?"

"It can be your welcome back present to me," Riku said as he paused to inspect a nick in the wood. "After all, you didn't bring me flowers or chocolates when coming here. And it's not like you're going to be busy with a girlfriend all day, right?"

"H-Hey, how'd you know?"

"I took a wild guess."

"Well, you don't have one either, do you?"

"They're not that interesting," Riku admitted, sliding the last drawer closed as he climbed back to his feet. He gave Sora a quick once over and, as though really looking at him for the first time, he raised both eyebrows and said quite plainly, "You're still scrawny. And what the heck are you wearing?"

Sora felt his eyes narrow and his lower lip stick out in a defensive pout. "Scrawny?! If I recall, I was the one who used to fight off all the bullies that picked on you! And what do you mean 'what the heck are you wearing'? So sorry that I didn't dress for you, Mr. No Shirt!"

But Riku's grin didn't falter as he stepped closer to Sora. With one smooth gesture, Riku gathered his loose silver hair and tied it back with a tie Sora hadn't seen him retrieve, and with his other hand he reached forward to ruffle Sora's already messy hair.

"I wasn't complaining, you goof," was what he said as Sora blinked at him in surprise, easily warming up to the way this new Riku acted so casual with him, even calling him a goof like the old days. "I'm used to the safari look you used to have when you were younger, so it's a nice change of attire." Then Riku paused a second to tug playfully at Sora's tight red shirt, a fond smile crossing his face. "It's cute."

_Cute?_

Was Riku _flirting_ with him?

"So, are you going to get those boxes or not?" Riku asked, slightly inclining his head to study Sora's face.

"Uh.. Yeah. I'm going. Haha." Sora managed a small laugh as he headed towards the door, Riku trailing after him to retrieve the one Sora had dropped earlier. He was kind of eager to leave the room. It gave him this weird feeling. Rather, Riku gave him this weird feeling. It wasn't all-too unpleasant; quite the opposite, but he didn't want to accidentally make a fool of himself in front of Riku again, and a laborious task would take his mind off things for a while.

And after finishing lugging those fourteen equally-heavy boxes up the stairs to Riku's sweltering room about two hours later, Sora collapsed onto the wooden floor with his lanky limbs sprawled out, fully aware that he was now as hot and sweaty as Riku was. He was _never_ going to move away from home, if it took that much effort to move boxes! At least it had kept him busy and free from Riku's questions, though he couldn't say he was safe now.

Upon hearing the loud _thud_ that resulted from Sora's dramatic fall, Riku looked up from filling his large bookcase with novels and comics. He had a few boxes scattered in front of him, and Sora briefly wondered just how many books he owned. Meanwhile Riku took a moment to watch Sora's chest quickly rise and fall as the boy struggled to catch his breath, before he went back to arranging his books, dryly commenting, "I bet you're wishing for an air conditioner too. It's being installed tomorrow."

Sora rolled over onto his stomach, propping himself up on one elbow, and squinted at Riku through his wet bangs. "How can you stand it? I mean, now I know why you're Mr. No Shirt, but... Even so, it's _too frickin' hot_!! It's hotter in here than it is outside!"

"How's your mom?"

"Eh?"

Riku turned away from his bookshelf to raise an eyebrow. "How is your mom doing?"

"Er... She's still only seventeen years older than me, and still _acts _like she's seventeen, if that's what you mean," Sora replied, blinking a few times at the sudden question that, as far as he could tell, had nothing to do with the house being too hot. "She doesn't tell me weird stories anymore though. I guess I grew out of them."

"That's a shame," Riku said quietly, carefully rising to his feet and lifting two empty boxes by their folds.

"Well, she'll come up with one once in a while," Sora smiled, watching Riku as the older boy tossed the empty boxes towards the unpacked side of the room. "She should have been a children's book writer."

"Or a cook."

"Cook?" Sora repeated, arching a single eyebrow. "I take that as a hint that you want me to invite you to lunch."

"My kitchen isn't unpacked, and the fridge doesn't have any food in it yet," Riku said, as though that was every reason for him to leech off other people for his meals. Then again, Riku's reason was pretty justifiable.

"I don't think my mom knows you're a guy," Sora said, smile widening as he returned to lying on his back, tilting his head back to watch Riku from upside down. "And she kinda thought that you would be the one for me. Y'know... _the one_. She might not be as lenient as I was."

Riku shot Sora a doubtful look. "Lenient? You gaped at me like a dying fish."

"But I still like you the same!" Sora called, lethargically waving his arms through the air as though to prove his point.

Shaking his head with a soft laugh, Riku smiled in amusement. "Then tell her I'm your new girlfriend."

"She'd probably believe me."

"Good. Now help me move this dresser, and then we'll go eat lunch at your house."

"You must be some sort of masochist," Sora groaned as he struggled to his feet, staggering a few steps before he caught his balance. "It's too hot."

"Precisely why we're going to your house," Riku said with another grin as he motioned Sora over to him. Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Sora stumbled to him and placed his hands on the dresser, just as Riku was planting his feet firmly against the wooden floor, one hand grasping the top edge and his other hand clutching the frame of the dresser. "Alright. It's going over there against the wall. See?"

Sora nodded, and then asked, "Won't it scratch the floor?"

"No, it won't. I put those little foam thingies on the feet. Ready?"

"Yeah."

Both boys tensed in preparation. The dresser wasn't wide, so both boys were standing close to each other in order to move it. And when Riku began pushing, Sora felt his arm and thigh brush against his own, giving him a weird feeling, but he quickly forgot it as he too began to push against the dresser. At first it didn't budge—just how heavy was this thing?—but with a little more effort it began sliding easily across the smooth wooden floor towards the corner Riku had pointed out.

Both of them were putting so much energy into it that when it finally slammed against the wall, Sora's momentum nearly sent him falling on top of Riku, but two hands shot out just in time and grabbed hold of his arms to keep him steady. Sora glanced up to meet Riku's eyes and laughed, feeling a bit foolish.

But Riku didn't say anything about their position or Sora's clumsiness. No, it was Sora's own stomach that spoke, letting out a painful growl that even Riku heard. The boys exchanged short laughs before Riku began to pull the younger boy towards the door by his arm.

"Let's go eat!"

"Alright, alright. You don't have to drag me, y'know," Sora said as they reached the hallway. "Is your aunt coming?"

Riku glanced over at him before releasing his arm, his smile falling. "Nah. She's gone back to her hotel room across the ferry," he explained as they bounded down the stairs, sending loud echoes throughout the still furnished house.

Oh. So that was why Sora hadn't seen her after she had answered the door. "So she's not staying with you?"

"Nope, the house is all mine."

Sora hesitated in mid-step, watching Riku walk ahead towards the front door. "What do you mean? You're living in this huge house all by yourself?"

"Yeah. My aunt's only here to help me settle in; she has her own place back on Atropos."

"But... Why move back here? Why not just buy an apartment on one of the main lands like Atropos? You're certainly wealthy enough now, right?" Sora asked, and this time Riku paused and turned to study the other boy. "It seems such a waste to live in such a huge house all by yourself," he continued, his forehead wrinkling as he spoke. "It's the biggest one here! My mom's place looks like a little pebble in comparison."

"This is the job I needed your help setting up and meeting people for, Sora," Riku explained patiently. "I'm turning this antiquated piece of shit into a boarding house for tourists. On Atropos and the other main islands there were no nice beaches or seascapes." He paused here and opened the door, motioning outside as though to further his point. "This island is beautiful, nearly untouched by the industrial mess they have over there. It's a paradise from their eyes. I heard people talking about wanting to visit here all the time for vacation... But this island doesn't have a hotel or anything, and people have to settle in on neighboring islands to visit here. So I'm turning my 'huge house' into a boarding house. As soon as my aunt leaves, I'm hiring some people to help renovate it and turn it into something decent, and then I'll be hiring a housekeeper, a chef, and a clerk."

Sora stared in disbelief. "A boarding house? You have that much money?"

"A lot of it is coming from my parent's insurance and inheritance," Riku said.

"I thought your parents were poor?" Sora wondered, then thought twice as he remember the size of this house and how rich Riku's aunt was.

Riku offered him an amused smile. "Well... They acted like they were, but they only lived out here because my aunt's family despised my mom. They had money." He glanced away for a second and brushed his bangs back. "And then I earned some of my own money from modeling for some of Atropos's big fashion magazines."

This time Sora's mouth dropped open. "You're not only rich, but you're _famous_?"

"I wouldn't say _that_ famous..."

"And here I am, still stuck here," Sora sighed, rubbing at his forehead as he turned his gaze to the floor. "I don't get you. You gave up that life to come back to this boring place and open a boarding house?"

"I happen to like it here. The island, its people... You and your mom."

"My mom...?" Sora asked.

And then it clicked.

_"She should have been a children's book writer."_

_"Or a cook."_

_"Cook?"_

Sora leapt off the stairs and approached Riku, a dangerous, scrutinizing gleam in his eye. "You want to see my mom to ask her to be your chef, don't you, Mr. Boarding House?"

Riku grinned. "So what if I do?"

That was when Sora realized that this was going to be an extremely long day. He had already warmed up to Riku again, and accepted the changes in _him_, and was even beginning to like the idea about a boarding house directly across the street from his home (hey, he'd get to meet weird new people, right?), but he wasn't too sure about his mom becoming Riku's chef. And he knew that Riku wouldn't give up until his mom took the job, no matter how long or how much convincing it took.

The two boys were silent as they crossed the warm cobblestone street (past the moving van and The Dent) and climbed the steps to the hovel's porch. Riku hesitated under the vine trellis, his head tilting back so he could study its leafy madness.

"It's been so long since I've been here," the older boy mused quietly, reaching up to poke at a lady bug that was nestled on one of the larger leaves. The insect's wings flickered and then it slowly ran for its life to hide under another jumble of v-shaped leaves, and Riku smiled, watching it. "I can actually reach this high now."

"Stop reminiscing and come on," Sora sighed, pulling open his front door and stepping inside. "Mom! I'm home!"

No sooner had he called to her than she had pounced from the den's archway, pulling him into a tight hug, giggling as she ruffled his hair and kissed him.

"How did it go, huh?" she asked quickly, pushing him back to get a good look at his face, her eyes bright and eager. "Did you bring me home a daughter-in-law?" But before Sora could answer, Riku stepped over the threshold and into the hallway, and her gaze immediately shifted to study the newcomer, her eyes hardening.

Riku hadn't put a shirt on, but they both realized that too late. Smiling almost sheepishly, the silver-haired boy raised one hand in greeting. "Hi. I'm Sora's girlfriend."

There was a moment of silence in which Sora's mother blinked. Then there was a sharp, enthusiastic squeal, and she threw herself onto Riku, poking and prodding at his muscles as she also tried to squeeze him to death, all the while giggling, "I'm going to have a **son**-in-law!" and "Ooooh! And he's so sexy!"

It took Sora several tugs before he managed to detach his mother from Riku and, as calmly as he could, tell her, "Riku and I are _not_ getting married, so would you _please_ let go of him?!" Actually, he was rather irked she hadn't responded a little more negatively like he had. She could have gaped a little, so that Sora's own reaction wouldn't have seen so extreme. Well, her reaction had been extreme in its own way.

She managed to plant a soft kiss on Riku's cheek before Sora pulled her away. Straightening out her apron, she smiled brightly at the two boys, who both were giving her rather strange looks, though Riku's was more amused than Sora's vexed one. "Well, I assume you two came here for lunch," she said, practically bouncing towards the kitchen. "Don't worry! I'll have something out in a minute! Just close the door and have a seat at the table!"

And she was true to her word. As soon as Riku and Sora had sat down, she was already placing plates onto the tabletop. Lunch was, apparently, going to be delicately-made roasted chicken sandwiches sprinkled with rosemary and thyme and glazed with red vinegar on tediously-sliced home made fresh french bread. And ripe green grapes.

Mom had gone crazy again. For some reason Sora had a feeling that she had prepared these sandwiches, knowing that Sora was going to bring company home. Well, her hard work had paid off because Riku was certainly impressed as he inspected his sandwich, much the way Sora's mom had inspected _him_ when he had walked through the front door. After a quiet minute, in which Sora had dug into his sandwich without so much of a second thought, Sora's mom sat at the table with her own plate and set out three glasses of orange juice, and Riku took this opportunity to tell her about his boarding house idea. When Riku finished talking, Sora was already half done with his sandwich and busy munching on the grapes.

"Of course I'll be your chef!" she suddenly exclaimed, and Sora almost choked on his grape. "I think it's a brilliant idea! You alright, Sora honey?"

Sora took a long drink from his glass of juice before he slammed it back onto the table and rounded on his mother. "_Mom_! You can't be serious!"

"About what?" she asked, blinking innocently as she delicately raised her own glass of orange juice.

"About being his chef!"

"What's wrong with that?" Riku asked, finally lifting his sandwich to take a bite.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" his mom repeated, looking confused. "I like to cook, and I already get money for selling pies and things, so why not make it into a real job?"

"Oooh. This is excellent, Seiya," Riku commented from his corner of the table.

"Thank you, Riku dear," she replied sweetly before turning back to Sora and saying, "And people like my food, so I don't see why I shouldn't share. Stop being so selfish, Sora."

Sora didn't really know why he didn't want his mom working for Riku. It just made him feel uncomfortable for some reason. For the next few minutes, as his mother and Riku went on discussing the different foods they could serve on different days, Sora slumped into his chair and moped, prodding loose grapes around his plate with his forefinger. It didn't go unnoticed by the other residents of the table.

"Sora, what's wrong? You not hungry?" his mother asked, her voice filling with concern.

"He's pouting," Riku said off-handedly.

"No I'm not," Sora mumbled, shooting Riku a glare, who grinned in return.

"Yes you are," he almost laughed. "Your bottom lip is sticking out."

Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Sora straightened up and grabbed his sandwich, taking a bite and holding it in front of his face so they couldn't tease him any more. It worked. Sora's mother returned her attention back to Riku, who was still grinning. The two of them looked like good friends. It was almost unsettling.

"So how was life on Atropos?" his mom was asking.

"Really boring," Riku admitted, and Sora glanced up from his sandwich, curious. He had always assumed the industrial life would be interesting, full of things to see. "The people there are always so concerned about trivial things, and running here and there, worrying all the time," Riku explained. "I didn't have a lot of friends there. There just wasn't time."

"Any pretty girls?" she asked, naturally.

"Nope," he laughed, waving a hand. "But I'm not exactly the most open person either. Most of them were afraid of me."

Sora gave Riku a questioning glance, wondering why anyone would be afraid of someone like him. Granted, Sora didn't know how much Riku had changed, but judging from what he'd seen... That shy little girly boy Riku used to be no longer existed. So what had he been like on Atropos? He had said he wasn't an open person, but that's all Sora had seen so far: open honesty.

"So was school hard?" she asked, not prying any further into what Riku meant. "I know the schools on the main lands are awfully strict, especially the private schools."

"Mainland schooling was strict, yes," Riku said. "Everyone had to wear uniforms. My school's uniform wasn't too bad though... Just plain black slacks and a Gakuran shirt."

"Gakuran?" Sora asked, not familiar with the word.

"Er... High-collared, long-sleeved, button-up. Standard boy's uniform for Shinra Academy," Riku explained. "And school was a little challenging, mostly because everyone was so anal on studying that the slackers couldn't, well, slack, or they'd look even worse. I was among the top of my class though." He paused for a moment to eat a grape, holding a twig of them between his fingers as he continued to speak again. "It was me, a girl named Quistis, and a cheerleader named Rikku who were in the top three. They made this huge deal out of our names sounding similar and even came up with songs to taunt us in the hallways. Riku and Rikku. I hated it."

"Hm... That sounds like school to me," she said, widely smiling. "I went to school on Clotho. They used to tease me about having a crush on Sora's father. I got pregnant my final year, and almost dropped out."

Sora's eyes widened in surprise. "You never told me that! I didn't know that you went to school on one of the main lands!"

She merely smiled. "You never bothered to ask, honey."

"But..." Sora lowered his gaze, frowning at his nearly finished sandwich. "But how come you moved here? And why did dad stay there?"

"Because I didn't marry your father," she explained, a little too happily. "He had an affair on his current girlfriend with me, and he married her instead. I didn't want things to be awkward, so I moved out here with you. No hard feelings."

"Oh," Sora replied quietly. He had always figured that was what had happened with his father, but he hadn't really wanted to ask. He thought his mother would have told him a long time ago, but she hadn't, and it had never bothered him enough to wonder again. But Sora, surprisingly, found that he didn't mind his mom's past. "It's a bit weird," he admitted. "I'm finding out all of this life-altering stuff today and it's not really affecting me. Riku's a guy, I'm...illegitimate..."

"And I'm getting a job," his mother added in with a bright smile as she rose to her feet, done with her meal. "And I'm relieved that you're not bothered by it..." She cleared her throat as if trying to shake off awkwardness. "So what are you two going to do after lunch?"

Riku stole a quick glance at Sora before he returned her smile. "Back to working on the house. Sora was only at it for two hours at most, and I still need to move some furniture up those steep stairs."

"Oh. Well. Sora, maybe you should ask some of those friends of yours to help," his mom suggested kindly. "Like Tidus. I'm sure he'd love to help."

Rolling his eyes, Sora opened his mouth to explain to his mother that Tidus would rather play blitzball than help move furniture around in a large, hot house, but Riku cut in before he could.

"I'm sure just the two of us can handle it," he said, finishing off his sandwich just as Sora did. He paused to drain his cup of orange juice before he too rose to his feet, grabbing the plate to take it to the sink. "That was really good, Seiya."

She smiled as she took the plate from him. "Thank you, Riku dear. Now I want you two to be careful about over-exerting yourselves, and drink lots of water."

"Don't worry, Mom," Sora sighed, leaving his plate on the table as he got up from his chair.

The trip back across the street took only a minute, and this time Riku just walked into the house, a draft of dusty, warm air seeping out to greet Sora, who stifled the urge to groan. It was only about two in the afternoon. Just how long did Riku expect him to help? Then again... Sora _had_ been the one who had agreed to helping him.

"So you found your cook," Sora commented blandly as they climbed the steps towards Riku's new room. "Who else did you say you were going to hire?"

"A clerk and a housekeeper," Riku replied, reaching the top of the stairs. "Maybe a butler too, since I'm not sure I'd want to stay in the house all day to greet guests."

"Is that all you would do?" Sora asked as they headed down the hallway, the floorboards creaking noisily. "Just... greet guests?"

"Well... I haven't really thought about it," Riku admitted, entering his room. "It'll be their job to do their assigned tasks, because I'm paying them, and I can easily fire them... But since I'm the owner, I have the freedom to do what I want. It is my house after all. I don't know what else I would do."

"So will this be your life-long job? Tending to tourists?"

"I don't know."

Sora paused in the doorway, leaning against the frame and crossing his arms over his chest. "And you aunt is just leaving you here, when you're not sure of anything?" he asked.

Riku stopped a few feet into the room, facing the window, silent for a moment before he spoke. "We didn't get along very well. Me and her. This house was my excuse to leave her and Atropos. I hated life there."

"And I hate life here," Sora said casually, resting his head against the doorframe.

Riku suddenly rounded on him, green eyes burning into him as he planted a hand against the wall next to Sora's head, his other hand pressing against the boy's chest. Sora stared in awe, blue eyes wide as Riku inched closer to his face. He had never seen his friend look so angry before.

No, when they were little, Riku would rather burst into tears than narrow those green eyes in anger. At anything. But now, there was no doubt that was anger in those eyes, at _Sora_, no less. It was almost impossible to believe.

Meanwhile, Sora was fully aware of how close Riku was getting, and he was aware that the hand on his chest was slowly closing into a fist, tightly clutching his red shirt between white fingers. He was sure that in a few more seconds, if Riku continued to close the small gap between them, he would be receiving his second kiss from a boy.

But Riku paused, gently pushing Sora harder against the doorframe, who could do nothing but stare ahead at the older boy.

"Don't you _ever_ say you hate it here," Riku whispered in a hoarse voice, his silver eyebrows drawing together. "With a mother like that... On an island like this... How could you hate it?"

Sora lowered his gaze, turning his face away from Riku's. "I don't..." he said quietly. "I don't hate it here. I hate the _life_ here. Just like you said about Atropos, when you said there was no time to make good friends... I had plenty of time, but I don't fit in." Here he closed his eyes, feeling Riku loosen the grip on his shirt. "They don't like me like that."

"Why not?"

Sora raised his head at the question, lightly blushing when his nose touched Riku's, and then quickly turned to look away again. Why the hell was he standing so close...?!

"I don't know why not. Never bothered to ask."

"Who could not like you?" Riku asked, using his free hand to brush his fingers through Sora's hair, who found that he didn't really mind the kind gesture. "You're so likeable, Sora. Funny, daring, adorable..."

Adorable?

Wasn't that what Sora had always thought of Riku?

Haha... Couldn't say that now.

"I think that's exactly the problem," Sora muttered a bit bitterly. "I'm too likeable. Everyone likes me. But none of them _like_ me enough to consider me a close friend."

Riku's hand slowly came to a stop but remained in Sora's hair. "Hmm... Well. I don't like you, Sora. I don't even _like_ you." He finally released his hold on the shirt and reached up to cup Sora's chin, forcing the boy to meet his gaze.

It was here that Sora fell into a pathetic grin. "You love me, right? I suppose this is time that I throw my arms around you and say," here his voice took on a kid-like innocence, "'You're my bestest friend ever, Riku!'"

"It wouldn't hurt," was Riku's laconic response, finally pulling away from the younger boy.

"It also wouldn't hurt if you figured out what to do with your life," Sora sighed as he ruffled his own hair in exasperation. "Why don't you go to a university on the island over and study to become a scientist or something?"

"Why don't _you_?"

Sora's eyes lowered. "Mom doesn't have enough money for college."

"Then why don't I give you a job?" Riku suggested as he stepped further into the room.

"Pfft. Me. With a job. Right," Sora laughed, winding his arms around himself. But then he paused, Riku's words sinking in, and turned a curious eye to the older boy. "What do you mean, _you_ 'give me a job'?"

Riku suddenly sighed, lowering his face as he rubbed at his forehead. "I was going to tell you a little later, but... I came here for another reason." He glanced up, his green eyes distant as he focused on the wall next to Sora's head, not on Sora himself. "My aunt, who had, technically, become my legal guardian since my parents died, had taken it upon herself to fulfill my parents' wishes and map out my future for me. She dragged me away to Atropos, if you remember, and then forced me to go to that school..." Here he did glance at Sora, his frown deepening. "Then she wouldn't let me befriend anyone, worrying that they would 'soil' my personality, which was part of the reason I only had a few friends—the ones I could sneak in behind her back. Last year she even brought me a line of suitors for me to choose from, like I could just choose any girl to marry like she were a pair of shoes on a shelf, not an actual person."

Sora felt his eyes widening with each word Riku spoke, disbelieving that someone could have such control over someone else's life. No wonder Riku had wanted to get away from her!

"So... You didn't pick anyone," Sora said, rather than asked.

"Of course not!" Riku said. "I sent every girl home that she sent to me and shut myself away in my room or went out all night after school, refusing to speak to her. My aunt, being of a high-class life and therefore used to people ruling her life as well, didn't see what my problem was! So one day I told her."

"Told her?"

"Yeah. I sat her down and explained that I wanted to live my own life, not something orchestrated by her rich-life fantasies. And then I explained my boarding house idea, and how I could live off that. She, naturally, thought it would be a waste of my time, and made a deal with me." Riku paused, turning his head away again. "I could run off and open my 'filthy tourist bungalow' as long as I found a nice, wealthy fiancée. And if I should fail with the boarding house within its first two years being open, she would find a wife for me. To check up on me, she's visiting every weekend."

"And you agreed to the deal," Sora said, finishing the rest for him. "Okay, I get how badly you wanted to get away from her, but where do I come in? You said you would give me a job."

"Well..." There was a moment of silence in which Riku rubbed his forehead again, as though not wanting to continue, but knowing it was too late to stop. "I don't want to find a nice, wealthy fiancée. And if my plan doesn't work, I don't want her to find a wife for me either."

"Yeah. I remember you telling me that girls weren't that interesting to you," Sora said, trying to move the conversation along.

"Well, I found a way around her little deal," Riku said, laughing a bit dryly. "It would work. Even if she discovered that I wasn't looking for a fiancée, she wouldn't try to butt in any more when she saw what I was doing."

"And what is this brilliant idea of yours?" Sora asked.

"It has to do with giving you that job," Riku began to explain, but Sora got the distinct feeling that he was stalling.

"So? Tell me."

"Alright." The silver-haired boy took a moment to run his hand through his hair before he looked up to meet Sora's gaze, his green eyes solemn, yet silently pleading. "It would only be around other people, and it wouldn't get too serious---just enough to fool my aunt until she gets the hint. And I would pay you whatever amount you want. So... Sora... Would you be my boyfriend?"

-o-o-

* * *

I'm really not good at this romance/humor stuff, but I'm trying! There are just too many clichés. I'm trying to work around them, but they keep sneaking in. Don't forget to review! I love hearing your opinions and reading those questions of yours, which I do try to answer as much as possible. 


	3. Ch 3: Le Femme MacGuffin

_Author's Notes:_

**MacGuffin** (in the title of this chapter) is defined as: _an object, event or character that only exists to move the plot along despite its lack of importance._ The MacGuffin in this chapter is Kairi because, at the time I wrote this, I hadn't worked deeply at her character yet. More on that later.

* * *

_**  
Chapter Three: Le Femme MacGuffin**_

-o-o-

"It would only be around other people, and it wouldn't get too serious—just enough to fool my aunt until she gets the hint. And I would pay you whatever amount you wanted. So, Sora... Would you be my boyfriend?"

That last word abruptly put a stopper on any questions that Sora might have had. In fact, it made the rest of the sentence fade from Sora's memory, those final two syllables buzzing into his subconscious and implanting themselves there.

"B-Boy...friend...?" Sora repeated slowly, making sure he said it correctly. "You're joking, right?"

"No," was Riku's stern reply. "I'm not."

Okay, so Sora had heard him correctly. He forced himself to think over what Riku had just suggested to him. It was a reckless plan because, really, what were the odds Sora would say _yes _to something like that? Sure, Sora was all for rebuilding their lost friendship and was willing to help Riku on many levels... but _this_?

Already forming the words in his mind to turn Riku down, Sora hesitated as something occurred to him. His eyes leveled on the older boy, scrutinizing.

Sora wouldn't say it out loud—that would only lead into an argument—but somehow, he felt a bit _used_. Had Riku come all this way expecting Sora to follow his every whim? Riku had just suddenly waltzed back into his life after eleven years. Riku didn't know Sora anymore. Apparently he _thought_ he did, but...

Riku was being a little selfish.

First was the whole part about expecting Sora's help on the house, which Sora was actually eagerly willing to give. But then came Riku's little scheme about getting Sora to take him home with him and meet his mother and hire her as his chef. That, he admitted, irked him a little, but he had already forgiven his old friend for doing it.

However...

Now Riku wanted Sora to pretend to be his _boyfriend_ so his aunt wouldn't force him into marriage?

It was ridiculous!

Sora didn't have a _clue_ about relationships, let alone _gay_ ones; plus, everyone on the island knew Sora had been trying to get a _girl_friend, so it'd be really easy for Riku's aunt to find out from the locals that Sora was straight, and therefore deduce that he and Riku were faking a relationship. And even if by some chance people believed their relationship, it wouldn't be taken lightly by the public. It was small community after all, and most of the people were close-minded and didn't want any abrupt changes in their society. That included both Riku's boarding house idea _and_ queers. It would _not_ go well with the people on the island.

Finally, Sora was _not_ gay, and he didn't want to be paid to act like he was. What did Riku think he was? Sora didn't want to be used like that.

But as he opened his mouth to give Riku his response, he hesitated again.

He didn't know why, but he just couldn't say it. Not with the way Riku was watching him with those green eyes, the same eyes that haunted Sora's past. Sora could never say no to those eyes back then, despite what it cost him... When Riku would beg him to tie her—_his_ shoe or go fishing with him, or when Riku asked for munny to buy ice cream, Sora could never refuse. Even when he had tried, he had immediately given in when Riku's eyes had begun to fill with tears. Now, even though those eyes belonged to a different face and were not, in fact, filling with tears, Sora _still_ couldn't bring himself to say it.

He had a feeling that Riku _knew_ it too.

Geh, but he _couldn't_ say yes! He didn't want that kind of stress in his life. What would everyone think? How would they react?

He couldn't say yes. Shouldn't.

And when Sora raised his eyes to meet Riku's, he felt the sudden sting of tears. He rarely cried—not even after all those girls refused his dates—but now... Why now? Why in front of Riku?

He wasn't even sad... was he?

Sora tore his gaze away from Riku and squeezed his eyes shut, fighting back the sudden swell of emotion that wanted to escape from him. Boys didn't cry. But it _hurt_.

It hurt because Riku hadn't thought about _him_ before trying to drag him into his insane plans. Because Riku was back, and their roles had suddenly become switched. Because Riku _had_ changed. Because Riku didn't realize things had changed between them. They couldn't really be the friends that they had been. Sora had thought so before, but now... It would be really awkward.

"Sora? Are you alright?"

His voice sounded soft, concerned... Riku's voice. _His_ Riku.

Not trusting himself to speak, Sora lowered his head and shook it as he slowly backed towards the door.

"What's wrong, Sora? Did I say something, or...?"

Sora shook his head again and kept backing away, hearing Riku's feet scrape across the wooden floor as he followed him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Riku asked again, this time with a little more worry. It was when Riku reached out to touch Sora that the boy suddenly turned and fled from the room, leaving Riku with the stifling heat as his only company. There was a moment of silence in which Riku stared after him and gathered his thoughts. Then... "Fuck!" he hissed to himself. With a distressed sigh, Riku covered his face with his hands and sunk to the floor, squeezing his eyes shut as he mentally kicked himself. "Riku, you are _such_ an idiot...!!"

-o-o-

"Sora, you are _such_ an idiot! Go back there and say _yes_!!"

Sora tried hard to fight back an audible sniffle as his mother fumed at him. After his little scene with Riku, he had run straight home and stormed up the stairs and buried himself under the covers of his bed, only half-crying because he had been too confused to _really_ cry. Half the time he had been trying to figure out _why_ he was being so emotional in the first place.

Of course, his mother had heard the ruckus he had made when coming home, and had decided to check up on him. Then, seeing his tears, she had tried to comfort him, and when she had managed to calm him enough to get him to talk, he had told her _everything_—from how close Riku stood to him, to the story Riku had unveiled, to the thoughts that had run through Sora's head after Riku's proposal.

And of course Seiya had changed her mind and had suddenly taken _Riku's_ side, which was why she was nearly exploding with disbelief.

"_Why_ did you just run out like that?" she demanded, furiously rubbing at her forehead as if trying decipher her son's actions. "And after such an important question!"

Obviously she wasn't taking in _Sora's_ part of the story about feeling used and not being interested in a relationship (fake or not) with his ex-best _male_ friend who had shown up in his life out of nowhere after eleven frickin' years.

"I don't _know_ why!" Sora tried to explain, suppressing the urge to pull his hair out in frustration. "But I just couldn't tell him no!"

"Then go back there and say _yes_, you dolt!" she said.

"But I _can't_, Mom!" he objected, trying not to pout and failing. "I don't _want_ to say yes."

She put her hands on her hips. "And why not?" she asked impatiently, narrowing her blue eyes. "You need to start somewhere, Honey. I think this would be a _wonderful_ learning experience."

Sora's eyes widened at her statement. "But you know how close-minded the people on this island are! Riku's boarding house is already probably going to raise some controversy — tourists running amuck and stuff — but if you throw a few _gays_ into the package too, they'll grab their harpoons and lynch us with fishing wire!"

There was a moment of silence, and then...

"Oh, don't be silly," Seiya huffed. "The worst they'll do is glare at you. Yes, I do know how the people here can be, Sora, but they're too peaceful to _really_ start anything." She paused for a split-second. "The adults at least." And then she waved the statement off with her hand, ignoring the incredulous look her son was giving her. "There are worse things than being shunned by a bunch of prejudiced assholes, Honey. One of them is being abandoned by your best friend, which is what you did to Riku, who was relying on you to support him! Imagine how he must feel right now!"

Damn it, she was putting up a decent argument!

Why she was pushing Sora so much to accept Riku's proposal, he had no idea, but he was starting to suspect something...

"But I don't want to be his boyfriend, pretend or not! I'll do anything else but that!"

"Do you see anything wrong with being gay?" his mother asked, slowly folding her arms across her apron.

"No, but..."

"You don't want Riku to be forced into a marriage with some girly sycophant, do you?"

"No, but—!"

"You don't want Riku to pick another boy like Tidus, or some girl like Kairi to be his fiancée, do you?"

"NO, but—!"

"Then it's settled," she said, brushing some of her loose brown hair behind an ear. "I'm not going to force you to be his pretend boyfriend, but I _do_ want you to march back over there," here she jabbed a finger into his chest to further her point, "apologize for running out on him, formally turn him down, and then explain _why_ you don't want to do it. _Then_ I want you two to come up with an alternate plan to help him out of his dilemma. I don't want to see either of you until dinnertime."

"But _Mom_...!!"

She jabbed his chest again. "Boy, your mouth is so full of buts, no _wonder_ no girls wanted to date you."

And thus, Sora's fate was sealed.

Unfortunately, after Sora got cleaned up and mentally prepared, and when he managed to force himself to cross the street and enter Riku's huge house, there was no sign of the older boy. Sora spent a good ten minutes calling Riku's name and checking every single room in the house, even the broom closets, but alas, Riku was no where to be found.

Which sucked. After all that whining and crying and being forced to come back over here, it turned out that Riku had upped and disappeared on him like a cough in the wind. Grr.

Sora began to head home, but then he remembered that his mom didn't want to see him until dinnertime. Geh, the only option he had was to find Riku, then. But where could he be?

Checking the yard around the house to make sure Riku was indeed missing, Sora sighed in frustration and decided to head downtown. Downtown, conveniently, was only a few blocks away, and roughly consisted of about three restaurants, one grocery store, a line of small businesses, and the fish market. If anyone wanted to do anything fun, they went to the beach or headed to one of the larger islands. Unless Riku had left the island, Sora figured he would be able to find him in no time.

So downtown he went, and along the way, since it was summer and his many neighbors were out on their porches talking to each other and sipping, Sora felt obligated to wave to them as he passed by. A few of the children playing in the street decided to follow him and giggle, but after a minute or so, they got bored and retreated to someone's yard to play with one of those small yappy dogs.

With _yap-yap-yap!_ still drifting after him in the warm summer air, Sora reached the first restaurant downtown, and it actually had a few customers, none of which were Riku.

"Soraaaaaa!!"

A mass of yellow dress and brown hair came out of nowhere, knocking him straight backwards towards the cobblestone street, only to be stopped and supported by a pair of strong arms. Sora was disoriented for a second until he realized that the aforementioned 'mass' that had barreled into him was actually a girl and she was now clinging tightly to his waist, which was still being held at a dangerous angle over the street by yet another person. He didn't know whether to feel irritated or relieved. He knew these two people, but their sudden appearance would hinder his search for Riku.

Worse, they'd want to _meet_ Riku...

"Jeez, Selphie! You almost killed him!"

Glancing up to identify the speaker, Sora studied Tidus' mature face, which was currently forming a scolding frown at their little friend, Selphie, who was now burying her face into Sora's hip. Tidus was one of Seiya's favorite people on the island and therefore one of the only people close to Sora. But even though Tidus, who was seventeen and a few months younger than Sora, came over to Sora's house almost religiously to eat his mother's cooking, Sora didn't really hang out with Tidus. Tidus belonged to a small group of Blitzball players who obsessions were, namely, Blitzball, barbeque, and bimbos. Actually, Tidus' habits were much more toned down than his Blitzball friends, but he was still part of their group. In other words, not Sora's group, which consisted of only Sora himself.

Tidus was probably one of the best looking-guys—if not _the_ best-looking guy—on the small island, but he rarely showed interest in any of the girls. He only looked. This was partly why all the adults loved him—he was attractive, well-behaved, intelligent, athletic, funny, and didn't take advantage of all the attention he got from girls. Out of the small population of students that went to the central high school from his island, Sora definitely liked and related to Tidus the most.

And out of the girls, it was Selphie. Cute, silly, random and romantic Selphie, who fit into _any_ group she wanted. It was hard _not_ to love her for her personality, but it was easy to get frustrated with her for some of the pranks she pulled. There wasn't much to learn about Selphie other than what to look out for, like her random clinging attacks that could probably knock over a light post with its strength, should she ever find the incentive to cling-attack one. Selphie was like a dangerous squirrel.

The strange thing about Tidus and Selphie is that, considering their personalities and different interest groups and friends, they seemed like the most unlikely of friends. However, that couldn't be more far from the truth. No two teenagers on the island got along as well as Tidus and Selphie did. It wasn't uncommon that Selphie would follow Tidus to Sora's house for some good home cooking. Selphie and Sora's mother—_that_ was a dangerous combination. Now that Sora thought about it, his mother had more close friends than _he_ did.

"Aw, but Sora's just so cute... I couldn't help myself!" Selphie giggled, finally releasing Sora and climbing to her feet, a bubbly grin on her face.

Tidus meanwhile pushed Sora back into a standing position and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Sora. You know how Selph can be."

Sora rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "Yeah..."

"Hey Sora! Hey Sora!" Selphie cried, tugging on his arm and impatiently shifting her feet. "Guesswhatguesswhat!!"

"What?" Sora asked, fighting to keep his balance as Selphie's tugs got increasingly stronger. "Did you finally give someone a heart attack?"

"Nooo! I just saw the _hottest_ guy ever! Here! Just like, a few minutes ago!"

Tidus decided to throw in a comment. "She totally went berserk and decided to stalk him for a few minutes, but didn't have enough guts to go up and meet him."

Sora merely blinked. "Er..."

"He was soooo hot!" Selphie continued with a dreamy look in her eyes. "Even _Tidus_ was drooling!"

Suddenly an interesting shade of red, Tidus stamped his foot and shot back, "I was _not_!"

Tidus... checking out another guy? _Tidus_? The island's image of perfection? Something was fishy about that.

"You were too!" Selphie insisted with a giggle, and this time she started poking Tidus non-stop, but he didn't make a move to resist her. "Either that or you were jealous of him! That hair... He was like, a model!"

Model. Hair. Wait, was she talking about _Riku_?

Oh, DUH Sora! What other _Hot_ stranger did he know about that Selphie and Tidus would stalk for a few minutes?!

"Did he have silver hair?" Sora asked, just to make sure. "Where is he now?"

"_Dreamy_ silver," Selphie sighed girlishly, ignoring Tidus, who was rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, silver hair," Tidus said, "and he was heading towards the market when I managed to drag Selphie away. Why, do you know him?"

"Er, sorta..." Sora admitted, slightly grinning and hoping they wouldn't ask too many questions.

He shouldn't have said that.

"You _know_ him?!" Selphie squealed, latching back onto him, her eyes wide and eager. "Did you hear that Tidus?! Sora _knows_ him!"

Tidus raised a single eyebrow at Sora. "I heard it, Selph. Sora doesn't look to eager to talk though. In a hurry?"

Trust Tidus to pick up that Sora didn't want to talk about it. Beginning to breathe a sigh of relief, Sora nodded and smiled, silently thanking Tidus for allowing him an escape from Selphie's nosiness.

"Yeah, my mom wants me to find him," Sora said, leaving out the rest of the story to avoid further questions. "I'll introduce him to you later. I _am_ in a hurry, sorta..."

"Yes, I want to meet him!" Selphie giggled, releasing Sora to dance in place. "Wow, Sora has such a sexy friend!"

Selphie just honestly scared him sometimes. Sora quickly fled, hurrying down the street towards the fish market and hoping he didn't run into anyone else except who he was _supposed_ to.

He didn't make it. Just as he turned the corner and spotted the happy blue and yellow sign of the market, he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Hey Sora! Wait up!"

Kairi. She was the last person he wanted to see at the moment, considering she had just turned him down yesterday. But despite his hurry to find Riku and get the whole ordeal over with, Sora didn't want to seem rude, so he hesitated and turned to face her. She wasn't alone, though. She had her little fan club with her, consisting of the daughters of the women around the island who liked to suck up to the mayor, who was Kairi's dad. Leblanc, Lucil, Dona, and Shuu: the other girls he had tried to ask out. They were all dressed as cutely in their summer clothes as they usually were, always to impress boys. He knew it wasn't to impress _him_, though. They practically considered him their little pet from how many times they had conned him into joining their girly gatherings. They had bestowed upon him many of their girly facts and secrets, and some of them Sora really wished he hadn't listened to. Eck, and sometimes they experimented on him. One time he even let them dress him up...

That was something he didn't want to relive. How the hell could girls wear panties anyway?

Kairi was the nicest one out of the bunch, and she never picked on him as much as the other girls. She was the conservative type, and she was already beautiful so she didn't have to try nearly as hard to dress up or look pretty for guys. If she had actually agreed to go out with Sora, he would have been lucky.

But she hadn't, and even though Sora knew he wasn't exactly boyfriend material, it still hurt. He didn't want to talk to her or her friends today.

Kairi had on her most disarming smile, though, and for a moment Sora forgot he was supposed to be upset with her.

"Hey Sora!" she greeted pleasantly.

"Hey," he greeted back, not nearly as pleasant as he remembered he was supposed to be looking for Riku. The other girls giggled behind their hands when he spoke, raising alarm flags in his head. They were acting strange. What were they up to?

"We were planning a slumber party thing tonight," Kairi said, casually lifting a hand to push a clump of hair behind her ear. "Aaand, we want you to come."

Ack. Not a slumber party! The last one he had been to had been a disaster for him. He did _not_ want to recreate the scenario by going to another one. Unfortunately, while saying no to Kairi was entirely different from saying no to Riku, it was still quite hard. For significantly different reasons.

Sora couldn't say no to Riku because he was.. well... _Riku_...

Sora couldn't say no to Kairi because if he did, he had to have a _damn_ good reason why he couldn't go, and then he had to somehow make up for it by doing something for her. But he _couldn't_ say yes now!

"Er," he faltered, smiling nervously and wondering how he was going to turn the invitation down. "I'm... uh... busy. Sorry."

Kairi's friends didn't buy it, unfortunately. An unimpressed look crossed Dona's face. "Busy? Sora, you're _never_ busy. All you do is stay at home with your _Mom_."

Sora wasn't sure if he should feel insulted, but he certainly felt it. He looked to Kairi, but she had averted her gaze as if she didn't want to get in the middle of things. He was alone defending himself as usual. Hiding his embarrassment behind a goofy grin, he said, "No, really, I'm busy tonight, and for a few weeks after that too."

By now the other girls were exchanging looks with each other and then sending condescending smirks at him. So he continued, trying to keep his feet on the ground.

"I'm helping a friend remodel his house," he explained, swallowing against the knot in his throat. "I already promised I would." Yeah, that sounded a little more believable. Sora was mentally patting himself on the back when one of the other girls—Leblanc—turned her nose up into the air and gave a disbelieving snort.

"Yeah right. You're just trying to avoid us because we all turned you down."

Sora focused on her, cheeks burning, and then clenched his jaw and looked away. He'd never been able to stand up to these girls well before, but now they had real ammunition to humiliate him.

"Yeah," Dona said with a sardonic tone in her voice, "because he's such a loser."

The other girls chimed in with tinny giggles as Sora peeked up through his bangs at Kairi. She caught his gaze and sent him an apologetic look before finally stepping in.

"Stop being so mean," she said, glancing at Dona and Leblanc. "If Sora's busy with this friend of his, then he's busy. We don't need him to have fun."

The other girls gave disappointed whines as Dona and Leblanc gave _tsk_s of disapproval, obviously not believing Sora about having a friend.

Then again, he _hadn't_ had one yesterday.

Didn't that kind of mean that he was, in a way, using _Riku_ now, just like how Riku had wanted to use him?

Maybe that was what friendship was for. To trust each other to help one another out, especially when one was in a tight spot; to make selfless sacrifices and risk even reputation; to _use_ each other to get past problems. Right?

Sora had been an asshole to Riku. Some friend _he_ was turning out to be... He had let Riku down when Riku had come to him asking for help. Riku hadn't been trying to force anything onto Sora. Riku had given him a choice. And Sora had stupidly gotten scared.

Screw what other people thought of him.

Sora had Riku now.

As he opened his mouth to tell the girls off, he was suddenly interrupted by the voice of his savior.

"Sora?"

Immediately the heads of the five girls snapped around to seek out the person who owned the deep, sexy voice that had just spoken. Five pairs of eyes focused on who they saw, as Sora could only imagine from their perspective, as every girl's wet dream. And all the girls went speechless.

Sora couldn't help the happy smile that crossed his face when he turned around to face Riku, who was standing there with a single paper bag clutched between his arms, his silver hair down and falling unevenly over his shoulders. He was fully clothed now, albeit a little strangely for usual island attire. With his slim white button-up shirt and the khakis from earlier, he was obviously new to the island life.

Much to his surprise, Sora found himself admiring Riku along with the girls, seeing him from their point of view. He was gorgeous, and Sora felt his stomach give a pleasant twist when he thought about how he had someone so cool as his friend.

With Riku here, it would be much easier getting rid of the girls. The only problem was to get Riku to play along with him.

Riku, he saw, had definitely noticed the girls' reactions to him, but he was actually ignoring them and focusing his pretty green eyes on Sora. So Riku had been telling the truth when he had said that girls didn't interest him. Was he really gay though?

Toning his smile down a little, Sora greeted Riku back. "There you are! Where've you _been_?"

Riku immediately caught on and fell into the act. "Oh, you know those helpers I told you about who were coming late? I went to pick up dinner for them." He lifted the bag in his arms. "Then I went to the post office to mail some information to a friend in Atropos who I hope can take one of the jobs."

"Oh." That made sense. Of course Riku would have business in downtown. "Someone told me I could find you at the fish market."

"Ah, I just went there to explore, relive old memories," Riku smiled, shifting his bag a little. But then he grew serious as he studied the girls before returning his gaze back to Sora. "You okay?" he asked, his eyebrows drawing together in concern. "You seemed upset a minute ago."

From the corner of his eye, Sora saw the five girls, including Kairi, fidget nervously. He had almost forgotten that they were there.

"Ah, well..." he began, keeping on a calm façade when inside he was actually pleading for Riku to take him away. "They were inviting me to a slumber party tonight—"

Riku's eyebrows rose in question. Obviously he wasn't aware that Sora frequented the girls' gatherings.

"—and I told them I couldn't go because I was helping you with your house... They got a little upset."

Sora didn't have to say anything else. Somehow he knew that Riku had gotten the underlying message.

Shaking his head, Riku sent Sora a convincingly stern look. "Well, you can't go. You promised you would help me."

Kairi leapt into the conversation between the two boys. "Oh, well, I'm sure the girls won't mind that Sora can't come!" she said eagerly, not moving her eyes away from Riku. Behind her, the girls nodded a little too quickly. "I mean, he _did_ promise you... What did you say your name was?"

Regarding her with a charming smile, he answered. "Riku. I'm Sora's childhood friend. I just moved back, actually."

Sora took notice that Riku did not ask for any of their names, and he felt a huge surge of satisfaction for some reason because of it.

At Riku's words, the girls' eyes glinted with obvious intent. No doubt they were secretly planning on how they were each going to try wooing him. _That_ peeved Sora.

"Well, I'm afraid I'm in a hurry, ladies," Riku said with another one of his smiles, and the girls almost melted because of it, "so I shall be going now." Sora watched as Riku stepped forward and mussed his messy brown hair and gave him a fond little grin before whispering, "See you later," and turning to walk off.

Sora's heart fluttered. He was beginning to understand why the girls had gone speechless when they had seen him. Riku just had this... unworldly charm about him.

But immediately after Riku left, Kairi rounded on him with huge eyes that looked like she had just seen an angel. "Sora!" she gasped, grabbing onto the boy's shoulders, a dreamy grin on her face. "You are so lucky! You _have_ to introduce me to him! Please?"

Sora narrowed his eyes at them, feeling possessive of Riku. So now that he had something they all wanted, they were going to be nice to him? Even if Kairi had sort of stood up for him, she had only done so after he had given her that pathetic look. He was going to start standing up for himself now. "No way," he said, "not after how you guys treated me!"

Kairi looked stricken for a moment, and then narrowed her eyes back, regarding Sora as condescendingly as her friends now, almost like she was putting up a front. "Why not?" she laughed. "And don't sound so upset. It's not like he's _your_ boyfriend."

At this, the other girls began laughing as well. Two days ago, maybe Sora would have been laughing, too, had he not been the center of the joke. But now he wasn't so sure it was even a joke.

"Maybe he _is_," he said.

And the girls immediately fell silent.

-o-o-

The girls had left Sora in peace after his little comment about Riku being his boyfriend. He doubted that the girls believed him, but he wasn't complaining because it had won him his freedom. He wasn't sure he even believed it himself...

It was still only early evening, giving Sora plenty of time to talk to Riku and apologize, maybe even think of some alternate solution to Riku's marital problems, but his mind kept cycling back to the whole boyfriend business. Would it be so bad pretending to be Riku's boyfriend? Riku may not have been his perfect _girl_, but he _was _a perfect _guy_.

Sora wandered the street, thinking about his current situation and recalling several of the things about Riku that had caught his attention. Like the way Riku moved. His movements and gestures were very deliberate and graceful—he was really well built, but even though he moved so elegantly, it wasn't in a feminine way. He still had a masculine beauty. Riku was gorgeous, yes, it didn't take a genius to realize that, but somehow, even with the obvious curve of his hips and his striking green eyes, he was still undoubtedly _male_. And that _voice..._

Geh! What was he _doing_?

_Stop it, Sora! Stop it!_ he screamed silently at himself. _Stop admiring your best friend! You are_ **not** _attracted to him!_

Then again, Riku _did_ act a little strange sometimes. For instance, Riku was the first guy Sora had ever seen _not_ ogling Kairi and the girls in her gang. That alone wasn't enough evidence to pin Riku as gay, but Sora had also noticed that Riku was more willing to be seen as gay than he was willing to be forced into marriage. He had also complimented Sora's looks a few times, and he sometimes leaned a little too closely to be considered just friendly.

No one had ever focused so much attention on Sora like that. No one had ever cared or paid much attention to him...

Feeling his cheeks heat, Sora didn't have to see himself to know that he was suddenly blushing and smiling like a love-struck fool.

Well, Sora _did_ love Riku, but that's because he was _Riku_. Sora couldn't _not_ love him, just like he couldn't resist him either. But it wasn't _that_ kind of love... It wasn't... _gay_...

Just friends. At least, that's how it _used_ to be. Riku obviously wanted something more from Sora that Sora wasn't so sure he was ready to give.

Even back then... back when they were kids, it had been _Riku_ who had asked to kiss Sora. Sora hadn't known at the time that Riku was a boy, but surely _Riku_ knew he was. Riku, a boy, had asked another boy if he could kiss him.

_Was_ he gay? ...did it really matter?

Just how does a guy act around his gay friend who might have a crush on him?

Sora had no experience with people, let alone relationships...

But... Riku saving him from the girls must have been a sign. It would be impossible to avoid Riku now, even if he wanted to. And it was damn near impossible to resist his wishes. Whether a cute little girl or a sexy nineteen-year-old guy—Riku was still Riku, and Sora couldn't deny _any_thing to his Riku, especially since neither of them had anyone else close to them to rely upon.

Besides, Sora _had_ been being selfish not wanting to help Riku because of his stupid fears. Since when had anyone else's opinion mattered to him? Why should it matter if anyone thought he was gay? That is, if the situation came down to that. Sora was still determined to find another solution, either way.

Nodding to himself and gathering his courage, Sora jutted his chin out and proudly strolled into Riku's house, ready to face whatever came at him.

Unfortunately, he didn't see it coming.

"I'm tellin' ya, Squall! I swear I saw one!"

As soon as Sora took a few steps in the house, a figure barreled into him and sent him sprawling onto the old wooden floor of the house with a hearty scream. He fell feet-over-head and roughly landed on his bum with his legs arched in front of him, spread-eagle. He was disoriented for a second, like he was when Selphie attacked him, only this time there was no girl attached to his waist. Rather, there were a few people surrounding him and staring down at him like he was made of glass.

With a groan, Sora winced and brought a hand around to rub his butt as he grimaced up at the people around him. He didn't recognize any of them.

"Yo, kid, you alright?" asked an older man with a cigarette and a blonde stubble, and Sora recognized it as the voice he had heard before he had been knocked over. His new attacker!

"Shit, Cid, you ran him right over," commented another man, rather young, who had cinnamon-brown hair like Sora's, only it was long and pulled back into a ponytail under a stylish cowboy hat. Cowboy hat... on an island?

"I swear I didn't see him!" the first man, presumably Cid, said as he shot the other man a defensive look.

A third person, another young guy, gracefully crouched down with a hand outstretched to help Sora up. "You must be Sora," he said. His voice was surprisingly deep and soft, and even though he spoke a little curtly, Sora wasn't turned off by it. Taking his hand and letting himself get pulled back to his feet, Sora noticed that his helper had the prettiest gray-blue eyes he had ever seen, and a scar across the bridge of his nose.

Sora was just about to respond to the third man when there came violent stomping upstairs and two figures appeared at the top of the landing, one of them Riku and the other yet another unfamiliar face, this time female. She wore her long dark hair down, but tied near the end to keep it gathered, and, like the other figures in the house, she was also unfit for island weather with her tight black miniskirt and white cut-off with suspenders.

Who the hell _were_ these people?

One thing was for sure... They were _all_ attractive. No doubt they'd all attract attention if out in public together.

"Is that Sora?" the girl asked. Her voice was a little too enthusiastic for Sora to be comfortable, and he presumed that she had made the stomping noises a minute ago. Riku nodded in confirmation and a coy smirk crossed his face as the girl suddenly bounded down the stairs and grabbed hold of poor Sora. She was, surprisingly, about Sora's height, but when she pulled him towards her, she ducked his head and squeezed him into a tight hug, pressing his face into her large breasts as she said, "Aww, he's so cute!"

Sora's arms flailed out in panic, and thankfully someone recognized the desperate gesture.

"Tifa, you might want to let go of him before you smother him," came Riku's amused voice as he slowly descended the stairs.

She beamed happily and let him go, and as soon as Sora was free, he leapt to Riku's side, panicked.

"Riku, who _are_ these people?" he demanded, casting a quick glance at each person. They were all smiling, but Sora paid no attention and whirled back on Riku, exclaiming, "I'm not even here two minutes and I almost get killed _twice_!"

Laughing, Riku replied, "They're some acquaintances of mine from Atropos who're helping me remodel. The helpers, remember?"

Sora blinked. "I thought you meant _professionals_! These people are..."

The guy in the cowboy hat suddenly chuckled. "Not interior designers, that's for sure. Nope. Most of us work with Riku."

"Yeah, 'cept me. I'm the expert. The kid is too lazy to do it himself," Cid gruffed and shifted the unlit cigarette in his mouth. Then he asserted, "Stupid fuckin' bastard won't hire professionals."

"Hey now, don't use that kind of language around the kiddies, Cid," the tallest man said, the one with the cowboy hat, which he casually tilted with two fingers to regard Sora. "Don't mind the old man, kid. He's been going through his mid-life crisis for almost three decades now. I'm Irvine, by the way. Modeled with Riku a while."

"Hehe, and so did I," the girl cut in with a bright smile, holding a hand out for Sora to shake. "Tifa! Nice to meet ya!" Sora took her hand cautiously and when he did, she clutched it painfully and pulled him off balance as she dramatically shook it, seemingly oblivious as to how violent she was actually being.

When she finally let him go he made a pained face and stretched his fingers while trying to wave the pain away.

He was already ready to pull Riku aside so they could be alone, or run away very quickly, but the next voice stopped him.

"Irvine didn't mention his promiscuous charm, nor did Tifa warn you about her unrestrained strength," the third man commented softly as he leveled his strong, cold gaze on Sora. He had his arms crossed over his chest in a casual, reserved manner, and when he spoke again, he had completely dropped the last subject. "My modeling name is Leon," he said, unfolding one arm to brush a loose strand of hair away from his eyes, "but you can call me Squall if you really insist."

"I do!" Irvine interjected.

Leon ignored him. "Unlike the other three, I will be staying here as Riku's bookkeeper, so you will be seeing a lot of me."

Sora gazed up at the man, managing a smile. He felt a little better about the people now that he knew who they were, but they still made him feel a bit uncomfortable, especially since he had come here expecting to be alone with Riku.

"Er, hi... I'm Sora," he said, giving a sheepish grin as he rubbed the back of his head. "I really wasn't expecting Riku to have company..."

The four newcomers suddenly exchanged quiet, knowing glances and then grinned over at Riku.

"Well, I guess I'll go back to dusting," Irvine said and quickly turned and headed deeper into the house, waving a hand in farewell.

Tifa backed towards the stairs with a lewd grin before she too retreated, her excuse dealing with moving furniture and kicking rat-asses.

Merely walking away, Leon didn't even give an excuse, and then Cid trailed after him, repeating himself from earlier: "I'm tellin' ya, Squall! I saw one! It was fucking huge and it nearly took my leg off! Fuckin' roaches."

Sora watched them leave before turning to glance at Riku, raising an eyebrow as though to silently say he was impressed with them. "So is that why you went out to buy dinner?"

Folding his arms over his chest, Riku smiled at the younger boy. "Yeah. I'd feel bad if Seiya found out they were here and then decided to feed them all tonight. Maybe tomorrow I'll let her cook for us. One Seiya meal is enough to last me a day though. Instant noodles will have to last us for the night."

Sora returned the smile, understanding Riku's words. He was right. If Seiya knew there were even _more_ foreigners on the island, she would demand to meet them and then cook for them, no matter how long it took or how late it was at night. Though, he wasn't so sure that his mother _didn't_ know that they were here. After all, there was a good chance she had seen the four strangers walk into the house right across from hers. It wasn't that hard to look out a window.

In the beginnings of picturing his mother peering out their kitchen window and spying on Riku's house, Sora was drawn away from his thoughts when Riku spoke again.

"So, you came back," he said. It wasn't a question, nor was it much of a statement, but it did remind Sora of what he came here to do.

Crap. That's right...

Sora's smile faded into a sad, slightly awkward expression as he nervously picked at his shirt. "Ahh... Yeah. About that..." he began, not sure where to start. But he might as well get it over with, right? Taking a deep breath, he raised his eyes to meet Riku's patient face. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier when I ran off like that... I was a little confused."

"I sorta figured that, yeah... I'm sorry too," Riku replied, slightly inclining his head to glance up the stairs and then to the corner of the hallway to make sure no one was eavesdropping. When he returned his gaze to Sora, he was serious. "Let's go up to my room."

Sora obediently trailed behind Riku as they climbed the stairs and crossed the long hallway to Riku's room, which was still stuffy, but considerably more tolerable than that afternoon. A sizeable couch sat next to the bookshelf in the corner and large portable fans were now stationed around the room and set on light, creating a steady hum in the quiet air.

"You've made some progress," Sora quietly noted as Riku flopped onto the over-stuffed couch. Sitting next to him, Sora continued, "Sorry I wasn't here to help."

"You already apologized," Riku sighed, leaning back and tilting a little to the side to rest his head against Sora's shoulder. There was a moment of silence after that in which Sora simply waited for Riku to speak again, listening to the sound of the fans and feeling the other boy's body against his.

This wasn't so bad, really. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence either, telling Sora that he and Riku had already rebuilt their friendship in many ways. Of course, there were some roadblocks still in place...

"So about earlier..." Riku offered, his words trailing off to urge Sora to talk.

So he did. "I told you... I was confused," he said.

Riku suddenly sat back up and shook his head. "No, I was talking about those girls."

_Oh...!_

"Oh.. Um... What about them?" Sora asked, not bothering to raise his face to meet Riku's studious gaze.

"They were picking on you."

Sora further lowered his eyes. "Picking on me... That sounds so childish..."

"Fine, then they were _insulting_ you and you were _letting_ them," Riku said, not even bothering to hide his irritation. "Care to explain?"

Brow furrowing, Sora finally raised his face to glance at Riku. He couldn't say it was none of Riku's business because, well, it _was_... After what Sora had told the girls, he couldn't take it back. Riku was involved now.

"I'm tired of people using me..." Sora sighed, slumping into the large couch and involuntarily sinking into the cushion closer to Riku. "I'm tired of being the only person who doesn't really fit in, who lets people push without taking anything for himself in return."

"And the girls?"

"Were just being mean..." Sora muttered in reply, glowering at a spot on his shorts. "After you left, I them off."

"Really?" Riku sounded mildly impressed.

"Yeah. They were a bit surprised. I've never bitten back before."

"I'm glad they're not your friends," Riku admitted, slowly leaning back again and resting against Sora. "When I saw them, I was worried... Why didn't you ever fight back before?"

"Because they never really bugged me before. I mean, they're just girls... We goofed around a lot together, but I wasn't really a friend. Just someone for them to play with. Tease. Experiment on. They've all had numerous boyfriends, shared them and all... So when I began asking them out separately, I was expecting at least one to say yes. But none of them did. They think I'm a loser..."

"I'm glad they turned you down," Riku said.

Sora lightly smiled. "I am too." But then he paused, his smile slightly falling as he approached the next subject. "Actually, I was downtown today to look for you. Mom said I couldn't come home until I apologized to you and... Well..."

Riku straightened and gave Sora an attentive look. "And?" he asked.

"Well, I ran out on you because you scared me... I didn't know what to think... But today, when I was looking for you, I started to think about it, and..." Sora hesitated, trying to form the right words to explain it. "I was going to say no, I just didn't have the guts to say it to _you_..." He smiled a little, but again the look faded into a frown. "And when the thing happened with the girls, and you came along, I got _so_ angry with them, and I was so happy that you showed up... And I realized how much you helped me, and _could_ help me, and that I was being selfish earlier by trying to back out..."

By now Riku was giving Sora a concerned look. "What happened after I left?" he asked.

Sora glanced up and grinned guiltily. "In order to make the girls leave me alone, I sorta hinted that you were my boyfriend..."

Riku's eyes visibly widened. "You did _what_?" Sora shyly glanced away, so Riku kept talking. "So does that mean you're going to help me?"

His voice sounded so suddenly eager, so happy... Relieved. Like he had been holding a long breath and Sora had just given permission to release it.

It was too late to say no. Even if Sora could say it, he wasn't so sure he _wanted_ to now that he had heard Riku sounds so happy.

"Yeah," he said as he raised his eyes and met Riku's. Riku was grinning openly now and, as though it were contagious, Sora found himself returning the look. "Yeah, I'll pretend to be your boyfriend."

As soon as Sora got out the last word, Riku pulled him into a warm hug, pressing chest to chest and leaning back so that Sora was practically straddling him. At first Sora wasn't sure of what to say or do, but then he heard it, the two softly-spoken words that barely carried over the light hum of the fans.

"Thanks, Sora."

Those were perhaps the most heart-felt words Sora had ever heard someone tell him. Letting a smile pull at his lips, Sora whispered a, "Hey, what are friends for?" before digging his face into Riku's neck and breathing in the smell of the boy's shampoo.

He could get used to this, he decided. The contact between them wasn't _so_ bad.

But when Riku gently slid an arm around his waist and pulled their hips precariously close, Sora backtracked and rephrased that last thought as he deeply blushed.

He would _have_ to get used to this.

An hour later when he returned home alone after talking some more with Riku about his plans, Seiya did not meet Sora at the door. Rather, Sora had to check up on her in the kitchen to make sure she was still alive.

He should have known better. She was there sitting cross-legged on the dining table, elbows on her thighs and chin in her palms, leaning forward to stare at him as he walked in alone. A wide, knowing grin was spread across her face, and he immediately knew that she _knew_ what he had done.

"So when's the wedding?" she asked, and he immediately blushed.

-o-o-

* * *

The whole "harpoons and lynch us with fishing wire" was a sort of play on townsfolk grabbing pitchforks and stuff, only island-style. I'm bad, I know. 

I know I portrayed Kairi and little.. er... bitchy, but if you read more into it, she isn't really the one who acts cruelly towards Sora—it's her friends who do. Ah, peer pressure.


	4. Ch 4: Rehearsal for Molestation

_Author's Notes:_

Happy early Christmas and New Year (since it's unlikely I'll update this fic again any time before then)! Thanks so much for all the reviews! I was really tickled by some of the ones I got for the last chapter.

* * *

_**  
Chapter Four: Rehearsal for Molestation **_

-o-o-

"Nn... Mommy, I wanna keep him!" Sora protested in a soft mumble, twisting sharply in his bed and jumbling the covers over to one side. Caught in such a light, innocent dream, he did not hear his bedroom door open, or see the intruder appear at his bedside and smile down at him.

"Sora."

But the intruder's call fell upon deaf ears. Sora merely kicked a foot out in his sleep and rolled onto his back, blanket draped over one leg and nothing else. His boxers were the only thing he wore, and from Sora's regular erratic sleeping behavior, they had shifted so far down his hips that it they exposed a nice length of the smooth, tan skin of Sora's abdomen and the curve downward towards his pelvis. Sora might have even seemed risqué in his sleep if it weren't for his babbling.

But right now, by pretend-boyfriend standards, he was just bordering on molestable.

"I'll feed 'im and ev'rything... Please?" came another of Sora's murmurs, his mouth forming a soft pout.

What the heck was he dreaming about?

Riku suddenly reached out and grabbed hold of the boy's shoulders and shook him, and he groaned, batting the intruder away with his hands. Riku had to quickly back up before he received a guaranteed bruise from Sora's unconscious attack.

"Sora, wake up!" the older boy said, biting back a laugh as the younger boy curled away from him and stuck his bum in the air.

"Lemme keep him...!" Sora whined, hugging his pillow to himself and forming a frustrated face.

Obviously he was still stuck in his dream.

Letting out a soft sigh, Riku dug his fingers into Sora's sides and began tickling him, confident that it would wake Sora. "Hey, Sora," he tried again, "get up, you goof!"

"Mm... Riku."

Riku froze, both eyebrows raising in alarm. What _was_ Sora dreaming about? Deciding that waking him up could be even more amusing, Riku did the last thing he could think of that did not require water or ice cream: he pounced.

"Lazy ass, get up for your first day as Riku's boyfriend!" he laughed, throwing himself onto the slumbering Sora and beating him with a pillow.

It worked like magic. Or, it would have, had the pillow not suddenly tear at the seams and spew white feathers into the air. Either way, Sora did wake up, limbs flailing as Riku continued to beat him with the loose sack that was once a pillow.

"Aa-ah! R-Riku?!" the boy cried, his very awake blue eyes barely visible under the cloud of feathers. "Why is it snowing?!"

Snowing?

Maybe Sora wasn't that awake after all.

Riku twisted a little so that he was leaning over Sora and not sitting completely on top of him, allowing the sleepy boy to turn and lay on his back. As the air began to clear and the feathers littered the bed and floor of Sora's room, Riku noticed that Sora's soft brown hair was now speckled with some of the tiny white feathers. One was stuck to the tip of his nose.

"Why are you in my room and sitting on me?" Sora wondered, eyeing the mutilated pillow in Riku's hands.

Oh yeah.

"Ohh... I was sent to wake you up," Riku replied casually, putting on his most charming grin as Sora finally raised his gaze to look at him. A soft blush immediately crawled across the boy's cheeks, spurring Riku on. He leaned farther down to pluck the tiny feather from Sora's face.

"W-Why are you sitting on me?" Sora asked again, eyes wide and embarrassed.

Riku laughed, rolling off the other boy and to his feet, flicking his hair over a shoulder. "Because you're so easy to fluster," he replied, smirking. "Ready to get up and spend the entire day mingling with the city folk? Or do I have to _dress_ you too?"

Face forming a stubborn pout, Sora glared at Riku. He didn't look too threatening in his half-naked state and all those feathers sticking out of his spiky hair.

Quirking an eyebrow, Riku let his eyes travel downward. "Of course, there's not much undressing _**to**_ do."

Sora blinked, following Riku's gaze. Cheeks suddenly an interesting shade of red, Sora threw a sheet over himself before grabbing his remaining pillow and chunking it at Riku.

"Pervert!"

Riku broke into laughter again, catching the pillow as he cried, "Stop acting like such a girl—it's not anything I haven't seen before! We're both guys!"

The pillow shot back through the air and smacked into Sora's face. As much as Sora _really_ wanted to give a mean comeback, something else came up. Something Riku had said. Hugging the pillow to himself, Sora asked, "Mingling with the city folk?"

"Yeah," Riku replied, gesturing with one hand for Sora to glance out his window, which overlooked the street and Riku's house, which was strangely bustling with people. "The house is being wired with up-to-date electricity and air conditioning and heating and gas and cable and wireless internet and all that good stuff. Not to mention there's people redoing the insulation and plumbing, and checking for rodents and unsanitary stuff. There's a long list."

"I can tell," Sora commented, his eyes scanning the street full of automobiles and people in work uniforms. There were also more than just several nosy islanders out there already, watching the commotion.

Already Sora knew this was going to be a _very_ long day.

He turned back to Riku with curious eyes. "And I'm guessing you want me to help with stuff?"

"No, no," Riku laughed, holding up two hands. "We've got plenty of people today. You might get run over or lost in the chaos if you _do_ try to help. Instead, you and I are going to go over other stuff today. Less concrete things like this pretend boyfriend business."

Sora slowly nodded in agreement, the words _pretend boyfriend_ giving him a little funny feeling in his stomach as he said, "Okay."

"But unfortunately," Riku continued, "you're going to be spending the whole day with me... _over there_—" Riku paused to glance out the window, "—at my house because they need me over there to oversee some stuff," he explained, now gesturing with his hands to indicate chaos. "It's a total hurricane. We'll probably spend most of the day upstairs to escape it. Squall and Cid can pretty much handle almost everyone. They know what I want from this project."

Nodding again, Sora managed a small smile. "Sounds fine. Gotten any company from the locals yet?" he asked. He wasn't looking forward to a few visits that were inevitably going to come, but he'd rather be there when they happened so he could back Riku up.

"Oh... There was a boy over earlier today. Tidus?" Riku began, smiling a little. "He said he'd be back later to help, and he seemed genuine about it. Nice guy. And then there were a few adults just snooping around for information, but the few people who weren't scare off by Irvine or Tifa were escorted away by your mom."

Sora was about to laugh at the image when those last two words registered in his mind.

"Wait. My _mom_?" he repeated. "She's over there?"

"Been there since dawn," Riku said. "Cooked us all breakfast and forced us to work." Riku paused, lightly grinning as he rubbed the back of his head in a cute way. "She's great. Very productive."

Before those words had even finished forming, Sora had already sprung out of bed and begun digging through his neatly organized dresser—neat thanks to his mother, who had cleaned up yesterday after Sora's hectic morning and would probably clean up again when she saw all the feathers.

"She may be great," Sora began to say as he grabbed a baggy t-shirt and shoved it over his head, "but she's a lunatic about work! You shouldn't leave her alone there, Riku! She'll get ideas!"

"Nah. She's fine. She's holed up in the kitchen listing what utensils and appliances she needs for her job, and what needs to be renovated in there. She told me that she might even need an assistant."

Sora was now throwing a pair of wrinkled shorts over his boxers, not caring or particularly noticing that Riku was watching him with a small smirk. As he fastened the shorts closed, he turned to Riku and said very pointedly, "You're _nuts_ for letting her do whatever she wants in your house."

Riku managed a short shrug. "She's like a kid at a toy store. And besides, she's already starting to prepare for tonight."

"Tonight?" Sora asked, freezing in the middle of pulling a sandal on.

"Yeah. A big dinner for all of us and anyone you wanted to invite," Riku explained, and then watched as Sora suddenly began undressing again. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Shower!" Sora said, back in his boxers and rummaging through his drawer again for clean clothes. "Mom would kill me if I showed up today smelling like the beach when she's trying so hard to impress all your friends!" A pair of green cargo pants and a black hoodie now in hand, Sora sprinted toward the bathroom, yelling, "I'll be out in a few minutes!"

As the door slammed shut behind Sora, Riku let out a small chuckle, rubbing a hand over his forehead and through his hair.

Today was going to be a _very_ interesting day.

-o-o-

The first thing Sora heard when stepping into Riku's busy house was the gruff voice of Cid cursing. He was having an argument with an air conditioning worker, who was looking quite off-put and nervous about something.

"Cid has been yelling at that poor guy all day," Riku muttered to Sora as they passed by. "It's a matter of time before Cid takes over the kid's job. Cid used to be an engineer, so he knows a lot of technical information like that."

Sure enough, as soon as they left the entry hall, they heard a metal tool drop and the stamping of feet before, "That's right, you fuckin' prat! Get the hell out! I'll fuckin' do it myself! And let that be a lesson to all of you! Get back to work!"

Sora gave Riku a concerned look. "Is he always like that?" he asked, frowning a little as they entered the living area where Leon was scribbling stuff down onto a pad of paper.

"Cid? No, he's only like that when something upsets him, or when he's trying to show off," Riku replied, laughing.

Leon looked up from writing to regard Riku and Sora, his face expressionless. He was wearing a pair of spectacles, and for some reason Sora thought they made him look sort of... cute. It was odd for a serious, seemingly rough kind of guy like Leon to be wearing something so sophisticated. But he didn't say that out loud.

"Cid has a large heart," Leon said disinterestedly. "But only when he wants to." He flipped the pad of paper closed and clicked his pen shut, turning to leave the room. "Nice to see you again, Sora. Now if you'll excuse me..."

As he brushed past them, Sora had a good look at the man's attire, which consisted of a lot of expensive-looking leather. He couldn't help wondering if all these city folk were as high-class and _different_ as Leon. Cid was a little more down and dirty, but he was just as interesting.

All his life Sora had dealt with the people on his island and had only had a few brief encounters with tourists. No one he had ever met before yesterday came _close_ to the oddities that were Riku's city friends. Well, except perhaps his own mother and Selphie.

Sora idly wondered how long Leon was going to last in his leather pants under the hot island summer sun.

"So Leon is going to be your bookkeeper?" Sora asked, glancing up at Riku, who had turned towards the other exit in the room.

"Yeah. I just need a clerk and housekeeper now," Riku replied.

"No butler?" Sora asked, blinking in surprise.

"I decided I didn't need one," Riku said, entering the next room.

Sora trailed behind him and discovered that they were back in another hallway, and this time they had run into the other two city people, Irvine and Tifa, who seemed to be moving a large couch somewhere.

"To the left, moron!" Tifa was laughing. "There's a wall there!"

"Wall, doorframe, person, it's all the same," Irvine complained. "Why did I have to get stuck moving furniture? It's bad for my back."

"Stop whining, Cowboy, and start pushing!"

"You say that so degradingly. It stings."

"Prefer Cow_girl_?"

"Hey, heeeey now, shouldn't the one with more brute strength be doing the man's job?"

"Trying to tell me something, Irvy?"

"Yeah, you're a bull!"

"Don't make me climb over this couch and throttle you!"

"Go ahead, Gorgeous. I'll meet you halfway and use your hair as a noose!"

"That's it! Come here!"

"Holy shit!"

Irvine suddenly stumbled backwards to get away from Tifa as she began to traverse the couch to get to him. He ended up falling over Riku and Sora, who had been standing there for only a minute to witness their argument. Somehow Sora ended up on the floor, and Irvine had managed to grab hold of Riku to keep himself standing.

Cowboy hat slightly askew, Irvine grinned sheepishly down at Sora. "Sorry, kid! Didn't see you there!" he said, but then he turned to Riku and clung to him. "Riku! She's going to kill me!!"

"That's right, I am!" Tifa called, sliding off the armrest and to her feet.

Today she was wearing something much more conventional, rather than her miniskirt and suspenders from yesterday—just simple blue jeans and a tank top, but they still highlighted her very curvy figure as well as any skimpy dress could.

She was cracking her knuckles at Irvine when she finally spotted Sora on the floor. Her eyes suddenly lit up and she smiled.

"Sora! Great to see you again!" she said, hurrying up to him. She pulled him to his feet, but this time he managed to avoid her chest when he righted himself. She slung an arm around him and glared at Riku. "You didn't tell me he was coming today." But then she fell into a kind smile and patted Sora's back. "That's okay though. More fun for me at dinner!"

Sora didn't like the sound of that.

"So I guess this hallway is blocked for now?" Riku asked with a subtle smirk.

"Well, it won't be now that I'm doing the pushing," Tifa laughed. "Irvy, get your ass on the other side and start pulling!"

It seemed that since Tifa was no longer trying to kill him, Irvine was back in great spirits. He took a great, deep bow and replied, "Of course, my fair lady."

Riku took hold of Sora's arm and pulled the younger boy from Tifa. "We'll be in the dining area if you need me any time soon," he said, indicating with his head towards the kitchen. "But after that we'll be upstairs."

"Right, right," Tifa said, waving him away. "Have fun, kiddies."

Sora breathed a sigh of relief when they were alone again and heading down the previous hallway. Unfortunately Riku caught the sigh and gave him a concerned look.

"What's wrong?"

Lightly blushing, Sora waved a hand in dismissal. "Nothing really. Tifa is just a little... intimidating."

Riku gave a soft laugh, nodding. "Yeah, but she's only like that when she's happy. She a lot more quiet and sullen back in the city and on the job."

"Modeling, right?" Sora asked, recalling the conversation from yesterday. "She doesn't strike me as the model type. Irvine and Leon I can see, but not her. Or Cid."

"Cid wasn't a model. I know him from school. He knows a lot about everything, and he's the one who suggested the modeling job for me. As for Tifa..." Riku paused, scratching his head. "Well, her specialty is more... lewd, " he explained, his voice a little more quiet. "Pornographic."

Sora's eyes widened. "Really?"

Nodding, Riku ran a hand through his silver hair and slightly turned his head away. "Yeah..."

"I thought you two worked together?" Sora asked, frowning. Was he imagining things, or was there a faint blush on Riku's turned face?

"We did... Well, for the same person," Riku admitted, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Hah... This is so embarrassing all of a sudden." He turned back to face Sora, a shy smile on his face. "I did model for pornography, but mine weren't explicit. And I wasn't with anyone. For _those _magazines, at least," he explained.

"And for the others?" Sora asked.

But they had already arrived at the kitchen, and Sora's mother had suddenly spotted them.

"Sora, there you are!" she called, bustling through the large space full of people to reach him. "I was wondering when you were going to get up. Hey again, Riku," she said, nodding to him. "So what are you two going to do today?"

Face suddenly serious and businesslike, the previous embarrassment no longer evident in his features, Riku replied with a smile, "I was hoping Sora could help me look for a housekeeper. I might have someone coming down to live with me who can take the clerk job, but the other position still needs to be filled."

_That_ was what they were going to do all day? Or was Riku lying? Sora did remember Riku mentioning something about the pretend boyfriend business and discussing that. He guessed maybe Riku didn't want to mention that in front of Seiya. Maybe Riku did have a good handle on her after all.

Sora was just finally getting relaxed about the idea of his mother working for Riku when she totally broke that trust with one innocent suggestion.

"I know this _darling_ little girl who would love to help you with that, Riku," she said.

Sora had a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. There was only one little girl who his mother thought was 'darling.'

But Riku was taking the bait. With raised eyebrows, he asked, "Really?"

Sora stepped in, not wanting Riku's dreams to crumble should he listen to Seiya. "Mom, you can't mean _Selphie_!" he cried, eyes wide. His mother only continued to smile, confirming his suspicions. Sora spun on Riku and grabbed his shoulders, forcing Riku to take him seriously. "Riku, you do _not_ want my mother and Selphie under the same roof. I'm telling you, it's a death wish!"

This time Riku only laughed. "Oh please. If your mother thinks this girl named Selphie is a good candidate, then I should give her a chance, right?" he said pointedly, smirking at Sora's distressed behavior.

"Your funeral..." the boy grumbled.

Just then, the lights flickered and a long string of curses could be heard from the other side of the house. Cid.

"I guess he's not being too successful at that," Riku commented. "But I bet he'll have the air up and running by this afternoon."

"Anything I can do to help?" Sora asked.

"No," Riku answered. "Like I said earlier, there's plenty of help now. We have business upstairs."

Seiya's eyebrows raised at that comment. "Business upstairs? Already?"

Riku laughed again, pulling Sora by the arm as he turned to leave the kitchen. "Less physical, Seiya," he said. "Tell Squall where I am if he asks."

About ten suspicious stares from the house's occupants and twenty creaky steps on the staircase later, Riku and Sora were shut away in Riku's large bedroom, which had sometime in the past sixteen hours gotten more furniture. It seemed that, even though Riku was going for a clean theme for the rest of the house to make it look warm and professional, he wasn't trying to match his room to that theme. No, his furniture was mismatched, posters were now thrown spontaneously on the wall, the floor was pretty much bare... Nothing matched. It was an interior designer's worst nightmare, minus the clutter. There _was_ no clutter. Yet.

"Take a seat," Riku said, sitting on his bed and folding his legs in. "This might be a while, depending on what we get to."

Sora hesitated at the statement before deciding to settle down on a papasan chair not too far away. "Alright. I'm listening."

Riku went straight to the point. "How much do you want to be paid for this job?"

It took Sora a moment to remember that Riku wanted to pay him to be his pretend boyfriend and that he hadn't liked the idea yesterday. Being paid to be someone's friend? That just wasn't right. It was almost like a form of prostitution.

"I'm doing it for free."

If Riku was surprised, he didn't show it. "May I ask why?" he asked, studying Sora's serious face.

"Because you're my friend," Sora replied simply. "I don't need to be paid. Who knows about this arrangement anyway?"

Flopping down to lay on his bed, Riku stretched out, sighing. He seemed to be relieved because of Sora's answer. "The pretend boyfriends? Only Squall, I think. He's not the type to spread information, so I don't think the others know."

"How long do we have to pretend?" Sora asked, turning slightly to get a good look at Riku.

The older boy had his arms stretched over his head and tucked beneath his pillow, causing his shirt to ride up and show a bit of skin. Really _nice_ skin...

"As long as we need to, to convince my aunt," was Riku's response. "But she'll be back in a week."

Sora pulled his gaze away from Riku's stomach and resorted to staring at the floor. "I don't think this is going to work..." he admitted quietly, a faint hint of red spreading over his cheeks. "I don't know anything about... _y'know_..."

That soft 'y'know' didn't need an explanation. Riku knew what he was talking about immediately.

"It's alright that you've never dated before," Riku said, sitting up again with a sigh. "That's why I brought you up here... to discuss that..."

Sora glanced up again to meet Riku's eyes as though to ask, _Discuss what?_

A reassuring smile pulled at Riku's lips. "We need to make our relationship seem as believable as possible so everyone is convinced," he explained, "so that no one can tell my aunt that we _aren't_ lovers."

Wait a minute.

_Wait. A. __**Minute**_

"Lovers?" Sora squeaked, blushing even further when Riku's smile spread into a grin.

"Well, my aunt won't leave me alone if she thinks it's just an infatuation," he said, waving a hand to emphasize his point. "We have to convince them our love is real, so she'll think I'm really gay."

"Riku..." Sora began, his voice uneasy.

But Riku quickly reassured him. "We won't do anything you're not comfortable with," he said, shaking his head. "At first, at least."

That didn't sound good...!

Sora was about to complain when Riku cut him off.

"We can't just act something out on a whim and make it believable to witnesses," he said, giving Sora a solemn look. "It's like a play, Sora. We have to practice, rehearse..."

"Practice...?" Sora asked. Was Riku suggesting? Well, it made sense, but then that meant... That meant they had to practice _kissing_?

"Yeah," Riku said, managing a small nod. "And since my aunt will be back in exactly a week, we have to start practicing _now_. I want her out of my life as soon as possible."

"But... if we move too fast, it won't seem real," Sora tried to suggest, but it was a weak excuse to postpone the inevitable.

"I know," Riku assured, suddenly smiling again. It was a warm smile, a smile to ease Sora's nerves. "We'll start off small, like a real relationship."

Small... Start off small. That didn't sound too bad. But... How did Riku know what to do?

"So do _you_ know anything about relationships?" Sora asked, eyes filled with curiosity. It was true that Riku hadn't said much about what had happened those eleven years in Atropos. This seemed to be a good opportunity to open him up.

But Riku was suddenly looking a little uneasy. "Um..."

"Riku?" Sora said, forehead furrowing with concern.

"...yeah... I sort of... dated..." Riku said slowly.

It was like he was almost afraid of admitting it. Or was it something else? Wait, Riku had dated? That didn't make much sense, after what he had said.

"I thought you didn't like girls?" Sora asked, raising both eyebrows. He probably shouldn't have been as surprised by the answer as he was.

"I dated _guys_," Riku clarified, rubbing the back of his head and looking away.

"Oh!" was Sora's startled reply. He didn't really know what to say. Well, other than the question he had been wondering for a while. "Um. So... Are you really...?"

"Gay?" Riku asked, the word rolling off his tongue easily. "Yeah. I am."

There was no shame. Just apprehension, like he was afraid of Sora's reaction. Like Sora would hate him for telling him the truth.

So Riku was gay and Sora's suspicions had been right after all. The confession didn't change much, however... Riku was still Riku, and Riku was still Sora's friend. This confession, now that it was out in the open, could only bring them closer. Right? Riku was gay. Riku wanted Sora to be his pretend boyfriend. Riku wanted to prove to his aunt that he was gay by having Sora _be_ his boyfriend. But...

Sora felt as though something was missing from that, like Riku wasn't telling Sora the whole truth...

But that was a problem for later. Right now Riku was quietly worrying about Sora's response when Riku _had_ no reason to worry. Riku would be Riku, male or female, gay or straight.

"Then that's good," Sora said, a genuine smile on his face. He did have one question burning at the tip of his tongue, but he felt that it was too personal to ask right out. "At least one of us knows what we're doing."

Riku took in Sora's smile and returned it with a relieved one of his own. Then Riku seemed to hesitate, as though realizing something that had not been spoken aloud. He leaned forward and shifted forward on his belly to get closer to Sora, his silver hair dangling over the edge of the bed as he peered over at the younger boy, who was no more than two feet away.

"You can ask if you want to, Sora. I won't lie to you."

Sora stared at him, bewildered. How was Riku so perceptive? Or was it a bluff?

"...how did you know I was...?" he began to ask, but let the sentence finish itself.

Riku got the point. "You have curiosity written all over your face," he softly laughed. "Go ahead. Ask."

"Um... 'kay..." Sora slowly frowned, trying to think of an easy way to word his question. He decided to go the subtle way. "Like, have you... Er... are you still a, er, _you know_? "

Again, Riku seemed to know what he was asking. "A virgin? No," he said, smiling at Sora's embarrassment. "But I never broke our promise, you know."

"What?" Sora asked. What promise?

"_I've_ never kissed another boy," Riku clarified, smirking over at Sora, who was suddenly blushing again.

Riku had remembered Sora's request after eleven years and he hadn't broken it? Even though he _was_ gay and probably had many, many opportunities to kiss other boys?

"Oh," Sora muttered softly, managing a tiny smile as he lowered his face.

"I _have_ dated, though," Riku said, rolling over onto his back to stare up at the ceiling. "In fact, I've sorta been with both Squall and Irvine... and a few others in Atropos." His voice suddenly dropped, taking on a sort of remorseful tone. "But it never worked out."

Sora lifted his eyes to stare at Riku, who was watching the ceiling as though he could see something that was not there. He was reliving something. Sora was almost inclined to ask why... but he decided to let Riku tell him.

And he did.

"They'd kiss me," Riku continued quietly. He had a soft frown on his face. "But I never initiated it. Sometimes they would ask why, and I would remember our promise. My heart was never really there, with them... It was always here."

"Oh..." Sora said, that hint of pink never leaving his face. He'd had no idea Riku had remembered that promise and had actually kept it all these years. Sora hadn't really thought about it since he had learned Riku was actually a guy. Did it still count now?

...yes... It did, didn't it? A promise was a promise.

Sora had almost broke his side of the promise by trying to date girls. Maybe it was fate that he had never been successful, like maybe Destiny herself had intervened and had kept him girlfriendless until Riku's return.

That was corny. But it _seemed_ true.

The problem was that... Riku was a _guy_. Sora didn't have an interest in guys. At least, he never had... before Riku had come back. He'd already caught himself staring at Riku a few times, but Riku was as pretty as—no, _prettier_ than—any girl, so it was alright, right?

"You seem stunned," Riku commented, tilting his head back to stare at Sora from upside down.

"Well... I... I dunno," Sora admitted, laughing lightly at his own confusion. "It's just..."

"You weren't expecting that?" Riku suggested.

"Sorta," Sora admitted. "I mean, here I am, only a year younger than you, graduated from high school, and I've never even been on a date... And you've already had so many boyfriends. " He paused here, shaking his head a little to clear his thoughts. "It's just that gay people have never really been a part of my life, so I'm surprised so many people are, _y'know_... gay..."

"Not all of them are," Riku said. "Irvine is bisexual, for instance." But then he noticed the pouty look on Sora's face. "You still look confused."

"Well, I am, a little," Sora said, frowning. "About you."

"Me?"

"Why did you come back here, where you're risking everything for a slim chance at happiness?" Sora asked quietly, more to himself than to Riku. "Why not stay in Atropos, if that's where you could safely be yourself? Here people won't accept you as easily... So why come here, especially if you have so much waiting for you back in Atropos?"

_Why keep that silly promise, knowing I said it because I thought you were a girl? _Sora silently wondered._ Why keep it for eleven years, not knowing if I still even remembered you...?_

"...Because I wasn't _happy_ there," Riku admitted solemnly, turning onto his stomach again to meet Sora's gaze. "Modeling was interesting, and that's where I met most of my few guy friends. They gave me some comfort, but I wasn't living the type of life that would make me happy."

"I don't see how anyone could be happy _here_," Sora muttered, thinking about his own uneventful life.

But Riku suddenly sat up, forming an angry frown as he glared at the younger boy. "You really _are_ clueless, Sora. Why do you _think_ I came back here?" he asked. "It wasn't because of the scenery, or even because of your mother's cooking, you dork."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked, a little taken aback that Riku had turned so cold all of a sudden.

Riku didn't have a chance to answer, for there came a very subtle knock on the door that Riku immediately got up to answer. Sora hadn't even heard it. It was Leon. He had removed his glasses and was looking a little more quietly dangerous than usual.

"You have a guest, Riku," Leon said, his voice deep with something that sounded oddly like amusement. "She claimed to be a friend of Sora's. Seiya called her over."

Sora suddenly scrambled to his feet, eyes very wide. "She didn't...!"

But she had.

A very high, bubbly voice came floating down the hallway. "Soooooora!"

Sora groaned, burying his face in his hands, unaware of the confused looks that Riku and Leon were giving him. "She's _here_...!" he cried in a distraught whisper. "Why did mom have to invite _her_...?"

"Who?" Riku asked, thoroughly interested.

"Selphie!" Sora cried, just as a yellow mass crashed into the room and latched onto Leon's waist.

"So good to see you again Mr. Leon! Very nice kitty, yes, yes, mm-hm... Pretty."

"That's Selphie?" Riku asked, this time raising both eyebrows and looking _very_ interested at the strange girl petting Leon's leather pants. Leon wasn't looking too happy, but he didn't seem to be complaining either. He seemed like he'd put up with almost anything for Riku.

"That's Selphie," Sora confirmed, grimacing down at the girl.

She grinned up at both of them as she climbed to her feet, releasing poor Leon to straighten out her sundress. Then, after making sure her hair was fine, she extended a hand and grabbed Riku's, animatedly shaking it.

"Nice to meet ya, Sir Riku!" she beamed. "Sora never told me he knew someone so hot!"

Riku merely returned the smile, unfazed by her enthusiasm. "Sora hadn't seen me in eleven years. I'm sure he had no idea."

"Well, all's in the past!" she giggled, stepping back from Riku to take a cutesy bow. "Name's Selphie! I cook, clean, and entertain. Happy with whatever I do, that's me. I can withstand dust and critters."

Riku gave her a quick once-over and made an amused face. "So I take it you're here for the housekeeping job?"

"Yup!"

Riku patted Selphie on the head and laughed. "I like your spunk. You're hired."

Sora gaped. "You're kidding!"

But Selphie was already pulling him by the arm out of the room and down the hall, squealing, "Booyaka! Sora, let's go celebrate with Tidus!"

"Celebrate what with me?" came a curious voice from the foot of the stairs. Sora glanced down to see Tidus already there, a sympathetic look on his face as he saw Sora being dragged by Selphie. "She got you, Sora?"

"Yeah," Sora managed, grinning sheepishly. "Hey Tidus."

A tinge of pink appeared on the younger boy's cheeks as he grinned back. "Hey."

"Tidus, I met Sir Riku!" Selphie cried, starting to bound down the stairs with Sora still in her grasp, who was staring at Tidus's blush with interest.

"I'm not sure what I did that warranted the 'sir' part, though," Riku said, coming up from behind Leon, who had just appeared at the top of the stairs. Riku paused before descending, taking a moment to study Tidus from afar. No one else may have noticed, but Sora saw a strange smile cross Riku's face as he gazed down at the blonde boy. "Hello, Tidus."

Tidus raised his eyes to meet Riku's, hesitating at the smile on the silver-haired boy's face. "Nice to meet you," he said, offering a cautious smile in return.

That was weird. Sora remembered from yesterday that, according to Selphie, Tidus had had the hots for Riku. Tidus wasn't acting like there was attraction there, though. Maybe Tidus was normal after all?

As soon as the whole group had made it downstairs, the doorbell rang.

"Oh, it's working," was all Riku said before Selphie suddenly shot for the door.

"I'll get it!" she called, spinning around some of the workers to get to the entryway.

"I wonder who it is this time," Sora said with a sigh as he raked a hand through his hair. He had been right about this being a long day. Already he was eagerly awaiting some alone time at home.

And then Selphie pulled open the door.

"Hi, welcome to Sir Riku's house!" Selphie began in her most cute voice. "Sorry for the mess, we're just movin—"

But she was cut off by a _very_ familiar voice.

"Um... Selphie? Why are you here?"

It was Kairi! Sora didn't want to deal with her _now_, especially after what he had said yesterday about him and Riku. Sora turned to Riku and gave him a slightly apprehensive look, but Riku merely smiled and mussed the other boy's hair.

"Don't worry. I'll handle it, Sora."

Meanwhile, back at the door, Selphie still had on her smile. "Sir Riku hired me as his housekeeper!"

"_Sir_ Riku?" Kairi asked, her pretty face twisting with confusion.

Riku decided to approach the door just then, dramatically wrapping an arm around Selphie and pulling her aside, smirking as he leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Thanks for getting the door."

"No prob!" Selphie grinned, blushing a little.

She twirled away on her toes, giggling, leaving Riku to contend with the newcomer alone. He turned to Kairi with a wide smile, but even from a distance, Sora could see there was no emotion behind it. Riku was acting again.

"And what do we owe to have the pleasure of your company, Miss...?" he asked.

"Kairi," she replied with a lovely smile, her earlier confusion gone with Selphie's departure. Now that she thought she and Riku were alone, since she couldn't see Sora and Tidus just beyond the entryway watching them, she put on a cute girlish act. "And I'm here to see you, actually. Ri-ku."

She said the syllables of his name with a certain delight that a person might use to describe their favorite dessert. It irritated Sora to hear Riku's name pronounced like that in her sweet voice, and he had a feeling it wasn't because she had never said _Sora's_ name that way. Sora was feeling possessive of Riku again.

"Ah, Kairi," Riku said as leaned against the doorframe, pretending to be interested. But, again, that smirk that was crossing his face _wasn't_ one of interest. It was almost mocking her, and Kairi was too lost in her own innocent act that she did not notice. She was also discreetly checking him out, shyly lowering her eyes and raising them again to briefly meet his gaze, pretending to be shy. Or maybe the shyness was real? It was hard to tell.

From Kairi's angle, no doubt Riku would be looking very open and charming, not to mention damn sexy leaning that way in the doorway, with a handsome smirk and his silver hair falling over part of his face, and wearing his slightly rumpled city clothes, which today consisted of a deep blue button-down and flowy, silky black pants. In her shoes, Sora would be ogling too.

Reaching up to tuck a small tuft of hair behind her ears, Kairi brought her eyes up to meet Riku's, a coy smile crossing her face. "So, Riku... I thought that since you were new here, maybe I could give you a tour. My father is the mayor and I could get us into a lot places for free," she said with a soft, convincing voice. That smile of hers didn't falter as she leaned towards him, one of her hands sliding up the doorframe to gently brush against his arm. "It could be like a little lunch together?"

She was good. No wonder so many boys liked her. Sora might have if she had given him a chance. And for a moment as he thought about that, he feared that Riku would give in to Kairi's suggestion, and she would win the afternoon with him. Free lunch and a tour of his new unfamiliar home? It _was_ tempting, especially with a girl as pretty and influential as her.

But thankfully Riku seemed to have something else in mind. "Ohh... I'm sorry—Kairi, was your name?" he asked, putting on a sympathetic smile that had a fake edge to it. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm sorry. I was already planning to spend the whole day here. With Sora."

At the mention of Sora, Kairi's gaze slightly widened before she looked past Riku and finally spotted Sora standing there. Eyes narrowing, she looked away, her smile replaced with an embarrassed expression. "Um... that's okay." She returned her gaze to Riku, her cute act dropped, replaced by nervousness. "Don't be sorry. But keep my offer in mind, okay?" she said with a smile. "It'll be open as long as you need it to be. You might change your mind."

_Not likely_, Sora thought, glad this went well. .

But as Kairi turned to leave, she suddenly paused, glancing from Sora to Riku, and seemed to come to a decision. She turned back towards them, looking confused. "Oh. One more thing, Riku..." she began.

He raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Sora made the funniest joke yesterday," she said in a casual way, almost like she was trying to convince herself it was a joke, and Sora knew what she was going to bring up next.

"Did he?" Riku asked, feigning interest.

"Yeah," she said, shooting Sora an uncertain look. "He called you his boyfriend."

Sora felt Tidus shift uncomfortably beside him at the sudden news, and Selphie even stopped her dancing to watch the scenario. Sick dread suddenly filled Sora, and he really did not want to be there for whatever happened next...

But yet again, Riku did not even forget to smile.

"I _am_ his boyfriend."

All eyes focused on Riku in shock.

Even Sora was surprised. He knew he shouldn't have been, considering Riku hadn't screwed up _yet_, and that there was no way Riku would ever let Sora get hurt again, but... That had been a very bold statement.

_I __**am**__ his boyfriend_.

Announcing it so calmly, _proudly_...

It made Sora happy.

Kairi was balking. "It... It has to be a joke. Sora isn't like that. He just asked _me_ out the other day," she pointed out, cheeks a little pink from her embarrassment.

"And you turned him down, right?" Riku asked, a very wide, handsome smile on his face. He had her in his net. "I should thank you for doing so, by the way."

"E-Ew! It _can't_ be true!" Kairi cried, stepping back, her hands going to her mouth. "Two boys—that's—!" She didn't finish her statement because she then focused on someone else behind Riku, and Sora turned to find his mother standing there, spatula in hand. Seiya usually didn't have a problem with Kairi, but she did not look pleased to see Kairi today. But Kairi was staring straight at her, oblivious of the unwanted stares she was getting. "You don't approve of this, do you?" she asked, gesturing with her hand to indicate Sora and Riku's 'relationship.'

"Hmph, I would rather have Sora date boys and be happy," Seiya said, "than be around girls who don't approve of who or what he is. Maybe you should rethink what exactly is more disturbing about this situation. The fact two boys are dating, or the fact you find their happiness something disgusting."

Kairi's face continued to redden to her ears, and she gave a nervous laugh as she turned on her heel, shaking her head. She curled her arms around herself and started to leave, looking humiliated and confused. Sora kind of felt sorry for her. It wasn't her fault that she'd grown up with everyone telling her that gay relationships were wrong.

Riku closed the door behind her, a satisfied smile on his face as he turned to face everyone else. He was probably used to doing this. Sora wondered just how long Riku had known he was gay.

"That went well," he commented.

Selphie was the first to speak up after him. "Is it true, Sora? About you and Sir Riku?"

All eyes turned to Sora, who couldn't hide his sudden blush. This was it. He couldn't back down now. As soon as he said it, things would be official, and he'd really be Riku's pretend boyfriend. With a short nod, more nervous than he could ever remember being, Sora managed a smile. "Yeah, Riku's my boyfriend..."

There came a loud squeal and Selphie suddenly threw herself onto Sora. "Really? That is **so** _cute_!"

Sora laughed, trying to keep himself upright, and as he glanced around the room to see everyone else's reactions, he was a little confused to see the disappointed look on Tidus's face.

"Tidus?"

Tidus glanced up, his blush suddenly matching Sora's. "I didn't know you liked guys," he said with a small, half-hearted grin. "And... you already have a boyfriend. It was just really sudden. I'm okay."

Selphie pulled Tidus into a group hug and giggled, "I think Tidus is just jeeeeaalous because Riku's so _**hot**_!"

She started dancing around, chanting about boys, leaving Tidus and Sora there. Riku stepped up to them, laughing with Seiya as they watched her, but the fun was cut short by Cid, who came trudging through the hall carrying a large box of tools.

"Why the fuck is it so noisy in here? Get the hell back to work!"

"Mr. Grouch!" Selphie squealed, trailing after Cid into the next room.

Sora was suddenly fearful for Cid's sanity, but he didn't have time to express his concern because his mother was now pulling at his arm.

"Sora, come help me cook!"

Sora shot a fearful glance back at Tidus and Riku and whined, "But Mom, Riku and I were discussing some—"

"Oh, phooey. You two have all night!" she laughed.

Giving Riku a helpless look, Sora let himself get dragged off by his mother. Riku merely waved in response, offering a wink.

They didn't see each other again until dinner. When Sora had asked why he couldn't go talk to Riku when he wasn't busy in the kitchen, his mother had simply replied, "Because the farther and longer you are apart, the more passionate the reunion is!"

Sora swore that sometimes his mother was stuck in one of her cheesy romance novels, not in the real world.

Even when dinner came around and everyone, meaning Sora, Seiya, Riku, the city people, and Tidus and Selphie, was seated at the large dining table, Seiya hadn't snapped out of her little daze. She was absolutely fixated on the supposed romance between Riku and Sora.

"Sora has liked Riku ever since they were little kids," Seiya was saying, and people were actually listening, "but now that Riku's back, they just sort of hit it off really well!" She paused to pinch Sora's cheek as he was swallowing a bite of food. He nearly choked. "Really, aren't they just _darling_ together?"

"Yes!" Selphie chirped with a giggle, nudging Tidus, who also almost choked.

But Seiya didn't stop there. "Really, Sora is the perfect shortness. too, for when they have—"

Sora broke out into a full blush, crying, "_Mom_, please **stop**!"

But it seemed the whole table was going to get in on the conversation. Irvine, who had not taken off his cowboy hat even for dinner, took this chance to speak up, a mischievous smile on his face. "You know, Sora, I have experience with Riku, so maybe I should give you a few tips."

Riku suddenly looked fearful. He shot Irvine a _very_ pointed glare and growled, "_Don't_—!"

"Tell tell tell!" Selphie was chanting.

Sora had to admit that it was really entertaining to see Riku so embarrassed, now that _he_ wasn't the one being teased. Riku had a really adorable blushing face.

Even Tifa had a grin on. "Go on, I'm sure Sora could use the advice."

Riku promptly buried his face in his hands and groaned, but Irvine ignored the sound of distress and carried on. "Well, Riku has a _really_ sensitive stomach," he said, giving Sora a long wink. "And he loves it when you're all dominant unexpectedly; he practically turns into a rag doll and lets you do whatever you want with him."

"_Irvine!_" Riku cried.

"And his neck," Leon suddenly spoke up, pausing to stab his fork into a piece of steak. "It's a key point of attack when seducing him."

Silence filled the room then, everyone giving Leon surprised looks, but it was quickly broken by Seiya's voice again.

"Well, you know, Sora's _extremely_ ticklish around his..."

"_**MOM!**_"

As the table dissolved into laughter, Cid finally decided to cut in. "I've had enough of listening to this bullshit," he said with a faint growl. "I'm tryin' to _eat_."

Dinner continued uneventfully after that, but as Seiya and Selphie began to clear the table of dishes, and people were getting up to get back to work for a final shift, Riku pulled Sora aside.

"Let's go upstairs."

Sora nodded, glad to escape the crowd, and he followed the older boy up the stairs. Riku's room was eerily quiet now that it was evening and there were no workers bustling around downstairs or people out on the street chatting about renovations. Even the many portable fans in the room had been shut down because sometime during the day Cid had gotten the air conditioning working.

The room was a little intimidating like this. So quiet. Just him and Riku and a single lamp on so they could see each other through the shadows.

"What's wrong?" Riku asked, crossing the room to settle on the couch.

What's wrong? There was something wrong? Sora must have had a concerned expression if Riku thought something was wrong. Or maybe he had had on his thinking face. His mother sometimes teased him about his thinking face, claiming she could see the smoke coming out of his ears because he was thinking so hard and looked so serious about it.

Well, Sora _did_ have a concern.

"Kairi's parents have a lot of influence on the island and she was probably not a good person to embarrass like that," he said softly, standing beside the couch and unsure of whether he should sit next to Riku again like yesterday.

"Maybe," Riku admitted. He wasn't smiling. "But that's something we'll just have to deal with. I'm sure you realized the risks of pretending to be my boyfriend, right?"

"Yeah," Sora said. He decided to just go with it and sit next to Riku. There was nothing to be weird about. "People aren't going to like it," Sora continued. "They'll feel threatened by us, like we'll magically make their kids become gay, too..."

"Is Tidus gay?" Riku suddenly asked.

Sora did a double take, not sure he had heard right. "What?"

"His reaction was weird," Riku explained. "It wasn't like he was uncomfortable with our relationship... It was like he was disappointed that _we_ were together. Like he was jealous."

Now that Sora thought about it, it was true. Tidus hadn't really joined in on the conversation and had been blushing almost as much as _Sora_.

"I really don't know," Sora admitted. "He might be. I mean, he's never really been _that_ interested in girls; he only looks, really, but maybe that's just for show, to blend in." He paused, thinking back on earlier and how Tidus had reacted around Riku. It didn't seem like he had liked Riku _that_ much. "But in a community like this," Sora continued, "no doubt he wouldn't want to tell anyone if he was gay, if he is, for fear that it would get out and his reputation would be shot down." Sora glanced up at Riku, a little concerned. "He's the island's image of perfection. Everyone loves him."

But Riku was smiling again, this time knowingly. "I wonder if he might have had a crush on you, Sora."

"N-No way, Riku!" Sora cried, feeling his cheeks warm.

"Well, I can see why he'd have a crush on you," Riku smirked as he leaned close, cupping one of Sora's pink cheeks, "since you're so cute and all."

Sora knew he was bright red now, but he still managed to pout. "Don't call me that."

"What, cute?" Riku asked. His grin fell when he saw Sora's sadly reminiscent face. "What's wrong?"

"I used to call you cute," Sora said, giving a dry laugh. "And anyway, if I was so cute, how come no one wants to date me?"

Sighing, Riku reached over and playfully shoved Sora, lightly glaring at him. "Why do you still feel so put down because of those stupid girls?" he asked. "The only opinions that should matter to you are from people you trust. They weren't your friends. You didn't trust them." But then Riku paused, narrowing his eyes. "_Did_ you?"

"No," Sora said, realizing that Riku had a point. A soft smile stretched across his lips. "You're right."

"Of course I am," Riku declared, pulling Sora closer to him.

The two boys exchanged grins before Sora lowered his head, resting it on the older boy's shoulder. "You've changed so much. But... I can't decide which Riku I like more," he admitted, giving a small laugh.

"Then like us both," Riku replied, as though it was the most simple problem in the world, "but don't think about little girly Riku when you're making out with me."

Sora shot up into a sitting position, eyes wide at Riku's statement. "W-What?"

Riku was as untroubled as usual, that light smirk on his face. "What did you _think_ couples did?" he asked, reaching a finger out to prod Sora's cute nose. "Fake or not, we have to keep appearances up, which is why I mentioned earlier that we needed to start rehearsing, practicing..."

"Practicing..." Sora said slowly. "Like.. Kissing?"

Nonchalantly waving a hand, the older boy chuckled and said, "Kissing, touching, maybe more..." He paused there, raising his brows at Sora. "Whatever it takes."

But the other boy had on his angry pout. "You make it seem so casual, like it won't mean anything to me!"

"Like I said, I won't pressure you into anything you're not comfortable with," Riku said, "but the sooner we start, the faster you'll become comfortable with it, and the faster we can convince my aunt to leave me alone." He reached out and once again pulled Sora close to him, tucking the boy's head against his chest. "So I won't wait forever for you, Sora. I _do_ want to have a life of my own soon."

Sora shivered, unused to such close contact, trying to calm the trembling of his heart, which seemed to like being so close to Riku like this. Closing his eyes, Sora quietly asked, "What if I never get comfortable with... doing those things?"

"You have to learn somewhere, Sora," was Riku's quiet response. "Might as well do it with someone you know."

Sora slowly shook his head, frowning. "I mean with _you_."

"Because I'm a guy and you're a guy?" Riku asked. "There's nothing wrong with that. I thought we already went through this?"

Sora shook his head again, not sure what he himself was trying to say. "N-No, I mean... I don't know if I can be comfortable with _you_..."

There was a very still silence after that, and it was only broken when Riku let out a deep sigh and slipped a hand into Sora's hair. "Well, not much of a choice, is there?" he said, and Sora knew without looking that Riku was frowning. "I'll take it really easy and slow with you, Sora," he assured softly.

His voice was deep, calm, relaxing. Its effects felt like a sedative almost, and Sora was beginning to think that Riku's chest made a very nice pillow. If it weren't for the gentle vibrations of Riku's body, Sora might have found himself drifting.

It just felt _right_. Maybe a little _too_ right.

Sora had always tried to imagine what snuggling with a girl's soft body would be like. Now he had to get used to the idea of a firm, muscular body instead... A very nice one at that.

"I'm not worried about you not getting over your first time jitters. You'll get used to it," Riku was still saying, as though Sora was still listening to his calming words, as though Sora needed to be calmed. "And I won't pressure you to _like_ it, just as long as you _look_ like you like it. To make it believable."

"So when do we start...?" Sora wondered absently.

He froze. They both did. That question had come out of no where.

Slowly the pink on Sora's cheeks deepened to red, and Riku didn't miss the younger boy's embarrassment.

With a sly smile pulling at his lips, Riku leaned down to Sora's ear and whispered, "I'd like to start now, if it's okay with you."

_W-Whoa, now?_

This was a little _soon,_ wasn't it? There'd hardly been any time for mental preparation! Sora had to practice kissing and stuff with _Riku_? A _guy_? Right _now_? It wouldn't have been a problem if Riku had been a girl. Or.. would it have been? Did it really make a difference that Riku was a guy? There _were_ friends.

GAH! Not this mental argument again!

_No, Sora,_ he reminded himself, _you've already been through this. Riku may be a guy, but he's your only friend and you __**did**__ promise him you'd do this, no matter how embarrassing it'll be! _

_And besides, you know a part of you __**really**__ likes the idea of making out with him. Riku. __**Riku**_

Pushing aside his strange hormones, Sora lowered his eyes and asked, "Will there be any... _weirdness_ between us when we're not pretending to be a couple?"

"Sora, there's _already_ weirdness," Riku pointed out through a soft chuckle, and the other boy managed a smile in return. Riku was right, after all. They _did_ already act weird around each other. But then Riku asked, "Hey, can I kiss you now?"

Sora's breath caught in his throat.

His eyes immediately flickered up and focused on Riku's face, Sora's tongue unconsciously darting out to moisten his lips as he stared at Riku's own mouth. Those gorgeous lips...

Sora must have seemed so childlike compared to someone as experienced as Riku. Sora could barely even compare their past relationship with this current relationship of theirs, when back then Sora had been more boyish than girly Riku. It was opposite now.

This Riku... This gorgeous Riku wanted to kiss _him _of all people? Why would he want to do that?

That was when Sora again remembered it.

The dock. The salty breeze, their fishing gear. And little girly Riku asking Sora permission to kiss _him_. And how Sora had let the strangely brave 'girl' kiss him.

Sora's first kiss had never been normal, but he had always known that. Before he had known Riku was actually a boy, he had always been embarrassed that a girl had kissed _him_, not the other way around like it was 'supposed' to be. But then Riku's sudden gender-bending revelation had changed that perspective again. He'd kissed a _boy_! His _first _kiss had gone to a **boy**!

However, there was one last revelation.

Riku, knowing he was a boy, had asked to kiss Sora. That was even _more_ profound. If it had been clueless Sora asking to kiss 'girl' Riku, it wouldn't have been as strange. But it had been _Riku_ who had initiated the exchange.

Back then, had Riku known he had liked boys? Had Sora just been an experiment? Or did Sora mean something more to Riku that transcended gender norms and sexual preferences?

Sora liked to think it was the latter, that Riku actually _did_ care for him. Riku could have easily skipped off with pretty Kairi, or he could have stayed in Atropos... But no, he had asked _Sora_.

Something warm, fulfilling—_good—_filled Sora then, and he suddenly knew he would be okay with Riku like this. Riku really cared about him. Riku would never let him get hurt. Even if Sora felt weird about it in the beginning, it wouldn't last long. Not with Riku.

So what if their roles from the past were now reversed?

Sora could be the follower. He could be the learner. He could grow, just like Riku had wanted to grow stronger and learn from Sora back then. And if this was to help Riku, to help build his new life, Sora would gladly do it.

Wetting his lips again, Sora managed a sheepish grin at the expectant Riku.

"Yeah. Let's start now."

-o-o-

* * *

That was just a little transition chapter to get to the good stuff. I hope you liked it, even though once again I think it's a bad example of my writing ability... But anyway, review? Please? 

**A NOTE ON Kairi: **I _like _Kairi. She's not a bad character in KH, just not as developed as Riku or Sora. I think if I DO make her a bitch in my fanfics or if I bash her, I'd be going against her true character. Actually, I feel sorry for her nowadays because people are so heartlessly corrupting her character as they see fit, not caring how untrue they're being to her character. In this fanfic, I'm trying to stay close to her character while also showing how she's been corrupted by her surroundings. She seems close-minded because that's how she was raised and taught. In this chapter, her reaction was "a typical normal reaction to something she doesn't understand," according to my beta. And I think, even nowadays, many conservative people still react this way, or worse, when facing homosexuality.


	5. Ch 5: Curse These Hormones

_Author's Notes:_

I _really_ can't properly apologize for the extreme lateness of this chapter, but I'm SO sorry! I made it extra, _extra_ long for you guys! Like, twice as long... I certainly had a lot of trouble with it. When I finished writing it, it was just plain _awful_, so I really have to thank Shiva-jo and Lane for putting so much effort into her beta-ing this time around! I was honestly very happy when I saw all their red-texted editing, because I'm not sure what I would have done if they hadn't told me it sucked. But now I like it! A great improvement from what it was, even if it isn't perfect still. I'm too frustrated with it to mess with it anymore.

* * *

_**  
Chapter Five: Curse These Hormones**_

-o-o-

Wetting his lips again, Sora managed a sheepish grin at the expectant Riku.

"Yeah. Let's start now."

"You sure?" Riku asked cautiously, giving the younger boy an intent look that meant he was more than just _serious_ about this.

Sora couldn't help feeling nervous under that gaze. "Er, no," he admitted as he wrung his hands together in his lap, averting his gaze from the eyes watching him. "But I do want to help you, and you said the sooner we start, the sooner your problems are gone... Right?"

When he finally looked up to search for Riku's response, he found those gorgeous eyes hovering right in front of his own. It took a lot of self-restraint to keep from blushing again and throwing himself away from his friend.

Riku seemed to like getting really close to Sora.

"Right," the older boy agreed, letting a tiny smirk pull at the corners of his mouth. "You were always too cute for your own good, Sora."

Immediately, that look of boyish indignation appeared on Sora's face, pout puckering his lips. "I told you not to call me that," he grumbled, brow furrowing.

"What, _Sora_?"

"Cute! I told you not to call me cute!" Sora huffed as Riku began grinning again. "You going to start the kiss or not?"

"Yeah, yeah," the older boy chuckled, shifting closer on the couch. "Face me a little more and raise your chin."

_This is __**totally**__ unromantic..._ Sora grumbled to himself as he did as told, moving a little so that his knees were settled between Riku's legs as the other boy leaned forward. But then he frowned, realizing something. _Wait, why do I want it to be romantic in the first place?_

Maybe it was because it was his first 'adult' kiss.

A silver eyebrow went up as Riku brought a hand to Sora's chin. "Hey, stop looking so disgruntled all of a sudden," he teased, his voice a soft tone as he studied Sora's face. "Relax and close your eyes, and respond as best as you can. This first one is a test."

With Riku's face so close to his, those eyes filled with comfort and kindness, and his lips _right there_... Sora couldn't fight back his embarrassment any longer. A line of pink spread over his cheeks again as he slipped his eyes closed and thrust his lips out into a fish-like pucker.

He heard a muffled snort of laughter come from Riku.

Ready to scold his friend for being mean (how dare he laugh at him now!), Sora suddenly changed his mind when two fingers were pressed to his wrinkled lips.

"I said relax, you goof," came Riku's quiet voice.

Oh.

Well...

Sora's closed eyelids flickered as the fingers gently eased his mouth open, smoothing out his lips again. The feeling kind of tickled, the way Riku was doing it so softly and slowly, like he was studying him as he did it. If his heart hadn't already been racing, Sora would have been focusing on that and trying to breathe properly, instead of what he _was_ paying attention to... which was the way Riku was being so gentle with him, so nice.

But then the fingertips were gone, sliding down to cup his chin and pull his face higher.

It didn't really dawn on Sora that this was actually happening until he felt the body moving closer to his, and the hot breath brushing against his face. Nervously, he wet his lips before parting his mouth again, taking a calming breath.

And right at that moment, soft, warm lips covered his own.

True to his word, Riku did start off slow, just barely applying pressure against Sora and urging the boy to respond. Sora's initial reaction was surprise, however, even though he had been expecting the kiss in the first place.

It was warm and wet, and, well... _Weird_. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing, but Riku had told him to respond as best as he could, so...

Sora reached a shaking hand out and grabbed hold of Riku's collar, pulling himself into the kiss as he began to mimic the older boy's gentle application of pressure and release.

He was actually being _kissed_... Which meant he wasn't _doing_ the kissing. He was on the receiving end. He was...

...the _girl_?

Hey, wait a minute!

Just as that thought struck Sora, Riku pulled away with a long sigh that sounded almost pleased.

"That wasn't too bad," he commented, prodding Sora's nose playfully as the boy opened his eyes.

"Too bad? What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, still feeling a little weird from the kiss, and from realizing that he was going to be the _girl_ in this 'relationship.'

"It means there's hope for you yet," Riku teased, his smirk looking a little funny with his pretty lips flushed pink like that. "You were doing fine with the basics, but for future reference, try not to bring your teeth into light kissing, and your tongue won't stay stationary when we get into the more heated stuff."

Sora nodded, soaking in the advice.

_No teeth for light kissing... Tongue won't—_

Waaaait a second!

"Just when are we going to get into the... uh... 'more heated stuff,' as you said?" Sora asked sheepishly.

"That's coming up next, hopefully," Riku said in a voice that was casual. Too casual. "We won't stay long on the light kisses because, well, real couples don't really bother with them."

Or so Riku said. Somehow, Sora had the feeling Riku wasn't being entirely truthful with him.

_Oh, goodie, _Sora sighed to himself.

This was going to be the most embarrassing night of his life.

"And tomorrow we'll work on other basic stuff, like casual touches and moving together," Riku continued as he licked his lips. At that moment Sora couldn't help thinking the older boy looked like a happy kitten. Well, until Riku said: "And then we start practicing the real stuff."

Real stuff? That didn't sound too good to Sora.

But he merely nodded, managing a smile. "Right."

Riku suddenly looked skeptical; he had probably seen right through that forced smile. "You're alright with that?" he asked, frowning.

Geh, Sora could never tell a straight lie. "Er, not really, but I might be when I get there," he laughed honestly.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Riku raised an eyebrow. "And what did you think of the kiss?"

Sora raised his eyes to meet Riku's, finding that frown still on his friend's face. "It felt weird," he admitted, his blush returning yet again, but this time it was light. "But it'll get better, right?"

Riku seemed satisfied with that answer, and he nodded in reassurance. "Yeah." Then, a mischievous smile spread over his lips. "Ready for the next one?"

Already?

Well, they _were_ supposed to be practicing... Of course there were going to be more kisses.

Sora gave a shuddery sigh of defeat and nodded, managing an uneasy grin. "I guess..."

Seeing the boy's apprehension, Riku gave a calm smile. "Hey, there's nothing to worry about, silly," he said quietly, slipping a hand up to run through Sora's messy hair. "No one is judging you, or making fun of you... It's just us. This is a first for me too, y'know."

Sora frowned. "What?"

"I told you before. I've been kissed a lot before, but I never really started any of them," Riku explained, sliding his fingers down to the boy's neck. "This is the first time I've _really_ started a kiss, so the practice isn't just for you... but me too."

Oh. So Riku, even though he had previous experience, was learning a lot from this too. As strange as it seemed, that knowledge was actually comforting to Sora, who felt a little more confident knowing that he wasn't the only one treading into new territory.

Which meant he couldn't exactly rely on Riku to tell him everything...

Sora had seen movies, read books... He knew _some_ about couples. Why was he being so hesitant? Riku needed his help! Their 'relationship' wasn't going to get anywhere with him being like this.

Now mentally confident and ignoring his body's refusal to calm down, Sora firmly nodded.

"I'm ready."

Riku's expression immediately brightened. "Good. I'm going to introduce some other stuff this time, so just do what feels natural to you, okay?"

Natural. Right. Do what feels natural... That shouldn't be too hard.

When Riku reached up to draw Sora's face closer, the boy slid his eyes closed again and relaxed into Riku's touch, bringing his hands up to clutch at the silver-haired boy's shirt. This time when their lips met, Sora was ready and determined, willingly letting Riku take control but also giving enough participation to continue the intimate exchange. When Riku pushed, Sora yielded, and when Riku released pressure, the other boy gave it in return. It was almost a dance.

That first kiss had been strange to Sora and hadn't really done much for him other than embarrass him... But _this_ kiss, even if it was still considered a 'light' kiss in Riku's terms, it triggered something within Sora... Something had he never realized was there.

He almost... _liked_ this.

And even though the kiss had started off slow, as Riku kept promising, it didn't last that way. Now that Sora was a willing participant for Riku's sake, Riku was already starting to get more intimate, and Sora was too busy trying to keep up to realize just _how_ intimate.

The older boy slipped his arms around Sora's waist and drew their bodies closer, tilting his chin to force Sora's mouth open farther. Just as Sora was getting used to the rhythm and the fuzzy feeling of being kissed, something set off his _Whoa, slow down!_ instinct.

Rather, that something was Riku's doing.

A smooth hand suddenly slipped under his shirt and skimmed over the warm skin of his abdomen, causing his muscles to quiver, just as Riku's tongue was sliding in between his parted lips.

Sora's first instinct was to pull away with a startled gasp—weren't they supposed to start practicing touches _tomorrow_?—but something about the way Riku gave a small happy sigh into their kiss stopped him from reacting that way. Riku was happy with him like this?

After having all those attractive model boyfriends Riku claimed to have had, and after keeping his promise to Sora to kiss no other guy except him, no doubt Riku had had a lot of awkward moments where he had to restrain himself from starting any kisses like this... Riku must have really treasured Sora if he was willing to give up happy relationships to keep one silly promise to Sora. It was unbelievable.

Now that Riku was allowed to kiss, Sora couldn't deny that privilege from his friend, especially because it was Sora's fault in the first place that Riku couldn't kiss back all those years.

Riku was _happy_ with him like this.

So Sora endured Riku's wandering hands and curious tongue, letting the older boy pull away for air and move in for another deep kiss. All right, so they had bypassed all the baby steps in kissing, and things were beginning to move a little _too_ fast on the first practice night—

But truthfully, Sora was beginning to really like all the attention. Sure, he felt weird about letting his best _male_ friend have his way with him, but it was alright if it was just that. Friendship. Right? Felt really good, though...

Shit, this was so complicated. Just how does a guy deal with this kind of problem? Sora just wanted a friend, not a _boy_friend!

A part of him did have to admit that he really _was_ enjoying this, and it wasn't so bad, the feelings it created. His body certainly liked it, at least, like the way his heart fluttered whenever he felt Riku's tongue against his, or the way his muscles shuddered when Riku's fingers passed over the sensitive areas of his ribs and stomach. It was all so _warm_ and exciting.

Riku slowly pulled away, pulling Sora's lower lip between his teeth as his hands finally retracted from his shirt. When they were completely separated, and Sora's lips were feeling swollen and tingly, he opened his eyes.

Riku was _blushing_.

He had his head turned a little so that his long silver hair covered most of his face, but Sora saw the hint of pink on the older boy's nose.

"I'm sorry about that," he said quietly, backing up to give Sora room. "I didn't mean for it to go that far. I told you I would go slow, but then I went and did that..."

Sora couldn't help laughing all of a sudden, his lips spreading into a wide grin.

With a curious frown, Riku looked up to see what was so funny.

"Why are you apologizing?" Sora asked, looking pleased. "It was weird at first, but by going that fast, I think I learned more. _That_ certainly felt more natural than before." He paused, shifting slightly on the couch cushion, and murmured, "Besides, you waited eleven years to do that..."

Riku turned to face him completely, blush in full force, his green eyes wide with what seemed to be surprise. Or fear. But when he saw Sora's amused grin, that look faded, and he slowly returned Sora's expression with a soft smile. "You sure that was your first kiss?"

Sora blinked. "Eh? Why?" he asked.

A smirk was the only answer to his question, for Riku decided to change the topic. "Well, it's getting late. You should probably head home now."

"Riku, I live across the street. It takes me a minute to get there..." Sora pouted. "Don't change the topic and tell me why!"

Riku leaned forward to kiss Sora's brow, petting his head as he pulled away to stand up. "Oh, nothing," he laughed lightly, grinning at Sora's frustrated look. "Since we had so much progress today, tomorrow we'll move a little faster too."

With a stubborn huff, Sora got off the couch after Riku, who was facing away from him. "Hmph, you're not going to wake me up tomorrow like you did today, are you?"

Riku looked over his shoulder with raised eyebrows. "Not unless you want me to," he said, a sly look crossing his face. "By the way, you might want to fix your appearance before you go home."

Glancing down at himself, Sora found his shirt pushed up and showing a lot of skin, probably due to Riku's restless hands. Fighting back a blush, Sora pulled his shirt down and turned for the door, ready to welcome his bed after a long day.

"Oh, Sora, one more thing..." Riku began, making Sora hesitate in the doorway.

"What?" he asked, his eyes blinking as he regarded his friend.

"About what your mother said during dinner..." Riku grinned. "Just _where_ are you extremely ticklish?"

Shooting the silver-haired boy an indignant look, Sora left, Riku's laughter trailing after him down the hallway. It wasn't until Sora was out of the house and crossing the street that he felt his own smile.

Despite their weird relationship, Sora really liked spending time with this Riku. He was really great, despite his constant teasing. Sora was surprised that this practice pretend boyfriend thing hadn't bothered him as much as he had initially thought it would.

And being kissed...

Ahh... It left him so light-headed and giddy! Even though it had been a _boy_ kissing him, now that he recalled the kiss, it had been so exciting. He couldn't _help_ grinning like an idiot when he got home.

When this was all over, he'd be an expert at this kind of relationship stuff. He wouldn't have to be nervous around girls anymore!

But... Hmm...

Now that he thought about it, just two nights ago Sora was dreaming of a female _Riku_ as his ideal girl. But there _was_ no female Riku, and somehow Sora knew he'd never meet someone who could live up to those standards. No one could replace _Riku_, male or female... And suddenly, Sora realized that he didn't _want_ anyone to live up to those standards. He liked having just Riku. That sounded really nice, actually. Just Riku.

When Sora climbed into bed that night, he could still feel Riku's hands on him, and those soft lips moving against his, and that _tongue_...

Unable to stop his blush, Sora buried his face into his pillow and grinned.

-o-o-

The next morning Sora wasted no time in showering and getting dressed, and he immediately headed over to Riku's house, knowing his mother would already be there. He had an amusing breakfast there at the kitchen counter as he watched people bustle around the large house, including the two women that seemed to have teamed up just to make everyone's lives more hectic.

It was Selphie and Seiya's deadly combo wave of cleaning and cooking, basically.

"Out of the way, Warrior Selphie with her brooms coming through!"

"Careful of the water on the floor, darling, I just—Oh."

"Wheeeeee! This is fun!"

_Crash._

"Hahaha! Let's do that again!"

Needless to say, it was frightening.

The only person who could even hope to falter the two girls wore a charming smile and a cowboy hat.

That's right. It was _obvious_. Every time Irvine dropped by the kitchen for a bite to eat, or passed by to share information, both Sora's mother and Selphie would swoon and then latch themselves onto the poor man. Selphie, it seemed, had taken him hostage as her new pet, now that 'kitty' Leon and his leather pants were avoiding the little girl like, well... Like she was a dangerous squirrel.

Sure, the prospect of Irvine keeping the girls entertained so that they couldn't wreak havoc elsewhere was nice, except there was a bit of a problem.

Irvine _liked_ the attention he was getting from them, and spent a little too much time chatting with them and playing around than anyone else liked or thought was appropriate.

"Shouldn't you be helping Cid?" Sora asked the older man as he was finishing up his breakfast.

Irvine, who had been in the middle of showing Seiya his Special Cowboy Pancake Trick, didn't even turn to acknowledge the boy as he replied. "Cid can handle the job himself, kid. Besides, no one has come to yell at me yet, so I figure I'm still safe here."

"Yeah... But Leon has been here a few times," Sora pointed out. "He just stands in the doorway and glares at you, like you should be doing something, but he doesn't want to tell you anything."

"Squall's been here?" he asked, this time glancing over his shoulder to raise his eyebrows. "No wonder I kept getting goosebumps."

Sora glanced at the doorway before rubbing at his tired eyes. Half through a yawn, he said, "He keeps coming back. Maybe you should get back to work."

"Maybe."

"Aww, Irvy, don't go!" Selphie pouted cutely. She was sitting atop the counter close to the man, her legs swinging back and forth against the cupboards below.

Reluctantly pulling away from the stove and letting Seiya take over, he gave a sheepish grin. "Hey, I'll be back, Darling. The kid's right. And even if Squall doesn't kill me for slacking, _Tifa_ might..."

"Are you and Tifa an item?" Selphie wondered as soon as the name came out of Irvine's mouth.

The question hardly fazed the man. With a grin he mussed Selphie's hair as Sora and Seiya watched. "As if I would even _touch_ that barbarian!" he laughed. "She's just a good friend, Darling. And despite her aggressive behavior, she's a real sweetheart. I think she likes more passive men anyway."

Selphie's eyes lit up with renewed hope. "Oh! I wasn't sure, cuz you two seemed close, but not _that_ close!" she giggled.

Sora tried hard to keep from rolling his eyes at the conversation. Both Irvine and Selphie were real charmers (with very different tactics), so it was only natural that they would be stuck like glue once they met each other. But Selphie and Seiya were dangerous enough as it was, so an added Irvine to that combination of friendship was practically spelling catastrophe. That trio of friends was definitely going to be something to keep an eye on for a while.

When Irvine left to return to work, Selphie considerably calmed down and productivity returned to the kitchen. Sora felt it was then safe to venture into the house now that he was more awake, so he got up to take his breakfast stuff to the sink. His mother stopped him half way there.

Taking his dishes from him, she gave him a rather tame smile.

A _tame_ smile usually indicated something was wrong. Sora didn't really trust that look...

"We've already had quite a few visitors today, Honey," she said as she turned back to the sink. "Now that Riku has been here long enough for the island folk to gather their wits, they've started coming to meet him. They keep bringing baked goods as a token of welcome. You know how they are..."

Sora frowned, glancing around the kitchen. Now that his mother had said something, he noticed that there were a lot of different kinds of pies and pastries along the counter, most of which were not his mother's style of cooking.

But there was something she said...

"You said '_we've_' already had some visitors," Sora pointed out.

Seiya gave a reassuring smile. "Well, a lot of the women have been asking about you and Riku. Y'know, wondering if the rumor was true. They wanted me to tell them that you two weren't dating."

"And what did you say?" Sora asked. He knew this had been coming, and he knew the news was going to spread fast. The island was small, the people were curious, and Riku was definitely a topic to talk about. Especially if Riku was gay and suddenly Sora was too.

"I told them all you two were dating and that I fully supported your relationship," she replied, smile still in place.

Sora had a sinking feeling that wasn't _all_ she had told them. "What else?" he asked, narrowing his eyes to show her he was suspicious.

She was just about to answer when a familiar voice interrupted her from the doorway.

"She told them she caught us making out last night, and that we were 'Oh-so-adorable together!'" Riku answered as he entered the kitchen, a large dish of more food cradled in his arms. In a softer voice, he commented, "I still don't know how she found out about what happened last night..."

He met Sora's surprised gaze and gave the boy a knowing smirk, watching Sora's face redden with embarrassment.

Riku looked _really_ nice today with his hair tied up in a loose ponytail, an elastic black shirt clinging to his skin and just barely reaching the waist of his green camouflage boardshorts. Sora was amazed that even someone from the city, someone so _rich_ and good-looking who stood out so much on the island, could already blend with just a simple change of attire. Well, not that Riku would ever be able to blend in completely, not with his looks. Still, he almost fit. Riku looked like he had gone shopping with Tidus, the way he was dressed like he was ready for a day of catching waves, except Tidus wore what he did because of blitzball, not surfing.

"I think he's drooling," Selphie commented from her seat on the counter, drawing Sora out of his stare. That was when Selphie also noticed what Riku was carrying. "Hey... are those what's-her-name's blueberry muffins? They're my favorite! Can I have one?"

Riku glanced down at the dish in his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Sure. Take them all."

"Booyaka!" Selphie bounced off the counter and snatched the bowl from Riku, scampering out of the kitchen.

Sora managed a cautious smile. "Um... Riku, she doesn't really need the extra sugar."

"I wasn't going to eat them anyway," Riku said with a short laugh, regarding the younger boy with an amused look. "You done with breakfast yet? Squall's going to need some help."

"Uhh... Sure," Sora said, glancing back at his mom for permission.

"Go, go! I don't need you here yet," she laughed, waving a dishrag at him to leave.

Nodding, Sora smiled up at Riku. "What's he need help with?"

"Moving his stuff. He left early this morning to pick it up, and he got back just a little while ago before you showed up. He needs extra hands to move everything into his room," Riku explained. "I'd help, but I have to meet someone on the island over. I'll be back soon."

Sora frowned, confused. "Leon's moving in? And who are you meeting?"

"Yeah, he's going to live here as my bookkeeper, I told you," Riku said patiently. "And I'm going to go pick up my clerk, who is also going to live here."

"Oh." Sora scratched at his nose. "So, um..."

Raising his eyebrows, Riku laughed. "Find Squall and he'll tell you what to do. When I get our newcomer settled in later, you and I will continue upstairs."

A sheepish grin crossed Sora's face as he failed to keep from feeling a little embarrassed about how naughty 'continue upstairs' could sound to an unsuspecting witness. Offhandedly rubbing the back of his head, he gave the other boy a short laugh. "Alright."

Riku seemed satisfied with Sora's response. After giving Sora small, happy smile, he left the room without a word. As soon as he was gone, Sora's mother took the initiative and slid over to her son, a tell-me-all grin on her face.

"So?" she asked, casually wiping her hands on a dishrag as she nudged Sora with her elbow.

Sora regarded her with a small frown. "So what?"

For a moment she looked exasperated, but her grin never faded. "So what do you think of him!" she laughed, thwapping him with the rag. "Tell me about you guys."

"Mom..." Sora paused, unsure of how to phrase his words. "Um, well... As much as I know you like Riku, and this pretend boyfriend stuff we're doing... It's not a game," he said seriously so she would listen. "I don't know what you're hoping will come out of this, Mom, but. it's not real. We're just friends. I barely know anything about him now."

She significantly sobered up at his words, her blue eyes narrowing as she studied him. Then a knowing smirk pulled at her lips. "I expect you back here to help in a little while," she said, and for once Sora was surprised she didn't have any wry remark to give him about Riku, or what he had just told her.

Sora hoped maybe she thought he was right and was taking his words to heart, but deep within himself he dreaded she was scheming something and honestly did not believe a word he said.

A little worried about his mother and trying to shake off the eerie feeling he had about her, he left the kitchen to find Leon as Riku had suggested. When he got to the front of the house, Leon and Irvine were already there, lugging heavy-looking boxes into the entrance hall.

"Sure took you a while, Sora!" Irvine called as he spotted the boy approaching. "We're almost done here. Maybe you and Squall could start moving these up the stairs to his room?"

Sora took one look at backbreaking amount of boxes now littering the hall again. "_All_ of these are _yours_, Leon?" he asked with a pained smile. He was not looking forward to moving stuff again, let alone _this_ much.

"No," Leon replied shortly and left to get another box.

"Yeah, most of this actually belongs to Riku's new clerk, whoever that is. Riku's not telling us," Irvine explained with a sigh. "Whoever it is, they supposedly got kicked out of their old place, so Riku said they could stay here in return for their help. And, whoever it is, they have a lot of crap. A truck dropped off the stuff a few minutes ago just as we were finishing up unloading _Squall's_ crap."

"So no one knows who this mystery person is?" Sora asked, regarding the boxes again. For a moment he wondered what sort of stuff was packed, and why there were so many boxes of it.

Irvine seemed to have read Sora's mind. "I don't suppose a peek inside could hurt. This one isn't one of Squall's boxes. Wanna open it?" he asked, pushing a large box forward.

True, a small look wouldn't hurt. Sora nodded and, after making sure no one else was in the hall and watching them, he crouched next to the box with Irvine and began to unfold the flaps.

Inside the box was, well, girly magazines, like the cosmetic/clothes/how-to-please-your-man types, and also indecent magazines published for women, like pornography of men. A lot of them. And a few other items, like a small shoebox full of photographs of happy-looking friends, and a lot of hair products.

"Looks like a piece of Kairi's room," Sora commented with a frown, sifting through several hair conditioners, issues of _Islander Girls_ and _Omnislash_ issues, and a few romance novels. "This kind of person is going to be Riku's clerk?"

"I don't recognize anyone in these photographs," Irvine said as he made a soft humming noise. "I bet whoever she is, she's hot. Riku seems to target those kind of friends, y'know."

For a second, Sora wondered if that applied to himself and felt a little flattered. That was when a fifth arm appeared out of nowhere and promptly closed the box. Irvine and Sora looked up guiltily to find Leon glaring at them and cradling a smaller box under his other arm.

"Stop dawdling and get to work," he said tersely, and gave Irvine a meaningful look.

"You know you want to know who's going to be bunking with you, Squall!" the cowboy called in a singsong voice after the other man as he stalked away. When Leon was gone, Irvine laughed and rested his eyes on Sora. "He's been muttering to himself about that all morning."

"Bunking?" Sora asked, a little surprised. "You mean, this new person is sharing a room with him?"

"Not just sharing a room," Irvine snickered as he hefted the box up and stood. "They're using bunk beds. Riku didn't want to waste two rooms on them, so he's making them room together. But since the space is too small for two people to live comfortably in, he gave them bunk beds, not two separate frames. Squall's a bit peeved."

Sora's eyes widened. "And Squall, er, Leon's alright with that?"

"Doesn't have much of a choice," Irvine said as he began to climb the stairs with his box. Sora lifted one and began to follow him, curious. "Squall will do anything Riku tells him to."

"Why?" the younger boy asked, forehead wrinkling. "Leon doesn't seem the type that would."

"I don't know the details," Irvine admitted as he reached the top step and turned to glance back at Sora, "but Riku did something _huge_ for Squall a few months back, and now Squall's indebted to him." He paused for a moment as they began to cross the hallway to Leon's new room. "Of course, it still surprises me... Squall never complains about it, either. There's a weird relationship between those two, Squall and Riku. I never did understand."

'Weird relationship' between Leon and Riku? Sora couldn't help wondering about the implications behind that statement. He recalled Riku saying he was with Leon not too long ago, but like all of Riku's relationships, it hadn't lasted... Like Irvine and Riku. Yet, even though their relationships had failed, they had remained friends. All of them.

Sora wanted to know more about what made them so loyal to Riku, why Riku was so special, why he had so many friends and was so secretive yet not...

And what the relationship really _was_ between Riku and Leon.

Sora was still contemplating Irvine's words as he set the box down in the middle of the floor in the last room of the hallway on the opposite end of Riku's. There really _was_ a set of bunk beds. He felt sorry for Leon having to put up with this kind of arrangement. Judging from the items in the box he had snooped through, Leon's new roommate was probably not going to be someone pleasant to live with.

Girly magazines? Tons of hair products? Romance novels? Granted, the photographs weren't a bad sign, but the rest of the evidence all pointed towards someone _anti-Leon_ becoming Riku's new clerk and Leon's roommate. That poor, poor man.

Sora knew firsthand the terrors of sharing a room with a girl, if only for a few nights. That was the horror of letting oneself get dragged everywhere by teenage girls, including slumber parties.

About to voice his sympathy for Leon, Leon actually interrupted before he could. The older man's voice drifted up the stairs from the main hall. "Sora, you have company." The strange thing was that Leon didn't even have to yell. His voice just seemed to travel all the way.

Sora bounded down the stairs, wondering who in the world was at the door this time. He certainly wasn't expecting whom it turned out to be.

"Tidus?" Sora said in a slightly confused voice when he saw who was just outside the door.

Leon raised a single eyebrow as though to ask if Sora needed his assistance, but Sora just smiled, and Leon took it as a good sign and left.

The boy turned back to Tidus and stepped outside to see what he wanted.

It turned out that Tidus wasn't alone. Most of the island's Blitzball players and Tidus's athlete friends had shown up as well. Sora vaguely wondered where Selphie was, but after a moment decided just to face the small crowd alone.

Feeling a little intimidated by their presence, and confused at why so many people were here, Sora still managed a smile. "Hey Tidus, what's up?" he asked. He noticed that Leon and Irvine weren't coming outside to get boxes anymore. He also noticed that Tidus didn't look too happy. That was enough to make Sora suspicious. And uneasy.

"Hey Sora," he said, giving an apologetic grin. "I wanted to come alone, but, er—"

"We wanted to meet de new neighbors, ya?" Wakka said cheerfully from beside him, giving an encouraging nod.

Sora had always liked Wakka—not as much as Tidus because Wakka never talked to him much, but Sora liked Wakka because he was basically a nice guy, and understanding, and protected his beliefs.

However, Sora didn't feel the same way about the rest of Tidus's friends, who had never really bothered to get to know Sora all that much. They were, well, jocks, and a little rough, at that. Sora suspected that if he _had_ tried to make friends with the bunch, they would have laughed at him, or targeted him with their latest cruel jokes. It wasn't that they were bullies; they just tried to show off all the time.

Granted, Sora had tried to fit in with them a little back when he had been in high school, so as to not seem too much of an anti-social geek and a perfect bully target, but he wasn't too fond of these guys. He loved the sport they represented, and played plenty of Blitzball himself, but had never accepted him.

Tidus and Wakka were the spokespeople and nice ones out of the group, even though they mostly went along with what the others did because that's what they were supposed to do.

If they had heard the rumor that he was gay, there was a definite reason for Sora to be worried about so many of them coming to 'meet the new neighbors' right then, but he felt a little safe because Tidus and Wakka were there. Well, Tidus wasn't looking too happy about the situation, but Sora was trying not to let that hinder his bravery.

"Oh, well, Riku isn't here, and the others are really busy," Sora said with a short laugh that sounded too nervous for his liking. "If you can come back a little later—"

"Is it true, Sora?" one of the guys in the back cut in. Sora couldn't see his face over the taller boys, but he sounded familiar.

"We were a little disturbed by the rumors going around."

Ah, so they had heard the rumors after all... Sora had been expecting personal confrontations about his situation, but a group this _large_? And especially _them_? Sora wasn't too confident he could handle this all by himself after all, and he wasn't surprised when he felt the strings of nervousness tug inside of him.

"U-Um... Rumors. About those..." he began lamely. He paused, taking a deep breath to calm himself and think of an easy way to explain to them his situation, but as he stared at the group of guys taller and stronger than him, he knew he wasn't going to be able to say what he wanted. Swallowing back his anxiety, Sora just decided to get it over with, and he skipped the innocent act. "They're true," he said, sounding much calmer than he felt. "I have a boyfriend, and I'm helping him open a boarding house to attract tourists to the island."

The members of the group exchanged looks with each other, and a silent agreement seemed to pass among them. Sora did not want to be there, let alone the center of attention of so many reproachful stares.

"So you really _are_ a fag," one of the guys in the front snorted. Jumal. "Always thought there was something wrong about you."

Sora could have sworn his heart skipped a beat, and he knew he looked like a trapped puppy at those words, but he tried to keep a brave stance. He had been expecting this kind of reaction from some people, but to face it alone? This was wrong. _Very_ wrong. Even if he really _was_ gay, like Riku or Leon, these people had _no_ right to approach him about it like this.

"Hey, just because—" he started to say in his most defiant voice, but he was cut off again.

"We don't want any of that disgusting shit here," said another guy in the front, who was giving Sora the most vile glare, like a threat. Sora knew him. Bickson. Huge blitzball player.

Despite his resolve, Sora felt a rise of panic. They weren't even going to listen to him, were they? Scared and feeling frighteningly alone at the moment, Sora closed his eyes and took a step away from them. He felt _angry_ and helpless about the whole thing, about how such a large group of them came just to reprimand and call him names, about how he actually _wasn't_ gay but couldn't say so because of his deal with Riku, about how people were so stupid and close-minded and no one was going to stick up for him, and—

"Shut up, you guys!"

Sora's eyes snapped open, and he focused on Tidus, who had made the sudden outburst. Tidus was standing in front of Sora, facing his other friends with a defiant glare. Tidus was...

Tidus telling _them_ to shut up? Tidus was the island's image of perfection. Everyone loved him. That Tidus was now protecting the island's image of failure: Sora, the fatherless, son-of-a-crazy-woman, friendless, _gay_ Sora. People liked Sora. Heck, _everyone_ liked Sora, but that's because they had no reason to _dis_like Sora. But they had never accepted him, not really, and now they had an excuse _not_ to like Sora.

But Tidus was protecting him. And, when Tidus had told them to, they had shut up.

The blonde-haired so-called image of perfection turned towards Sora again and sighed. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have let them come here to harass you," he said. "I knew they were going to, but they kept asking me about your situation, and I couldn't say no."

"Tch, fuck, Tidus! Why are you protecting him?" Bickson asked as he stepped forward to get into Tidus' face.

Just as things looked as though they were going to get ugly, Wakka pushed his way in between the blitzball players, settling a harsh, reprimanding look on the one trying to cause trouble.

"Settle down, Bickson," Wakka said in a strong, easy voice. "Tidus ain't lookin' for a fight, ya?"

And he _did_ settle down, stepping back with a cold glare at Sora. Sora didn't think Bickson backed off because of Wakka's words, however, but because he would have had to make his way past Wakka before he could have even threatened Tidus.

"I'm protecting him because Sora's my friend!" Tidus was saying, his face filled with something akin to anger. "That's not going to change, even if Sora changes."

Sora's eyes widened at Tidus's words, not only surprised that Tidus had called _him_ a friend, but also that Tidus was defying his entire _group_ of friends to stick up for Sora. Tidus stuck up for his beliefs, yes, but even though Sora had always known that, he never thought Tidus would do something like this, not for him.

Not now, though. Sora felt an overwhelming sense of respect for the other boy.

"So you'll still call him a friend even if he starts checking out your ass when you're not looking?" a different guy asked, and at his words a lot of the others started sniggering and muttering amongst themselves.

Sora, who found that statement outright stupid, was opening his mouth to retort, when—

"Hey, back _off_!" Wakka cried as he stamped his foot to get everyone's attention, raising an arm in front of Tidus to show clearly whose side he was on. "D'ere's no need for dis hostility, man!"

Tidus looked furious, his pretty blue eyes narrowed and his mouth drawn into a thin, angry line.

Risking a glance between Tidus and the others, Sora watched as Bickson rolled his eyes and turned away with a growl.

"C'mon guys, let's leave pretty boy with his boyfriend," he said as he walked away with a huff.

A few last threatening glares was what they gave Sora as they turned to leave, snickering and murmuring things to each other.

But as the small group was dispersing, Sora couldn't help noticing that someone was watching from across the street, and that this someone looked suspiciously like Kairi. She caught his gaze and awkwardly looked away before she turned to follow the blitzball players.

Sora had a sinking feeling that this encounter was just the _beginning_ of his problems.

When the others were gone, Wakka looked to Tidus and sighed, rubbing a hand through his orange hair as though at a loss of what to say. "Well, maybe it's better dis way, ya?" he suggested.

"Maybe," Tidus said. "I should have told them no in the first place."

Wakka shrugged, a hopeful grin lighting his face. "Oh well. Ya did the right t'ing in da end, Tidus. Eh, Sora?"

Sora glanced up at the two boys now regarding him with concerned faces. "Oh, um..." He really didn't know what to say.

Raising an eyebrow at him, Wakka then turned back to his blonde friend. "Well, I t'ink maybe you should hang out here for a while. Just in case, ya?" he suggested. "Help out. Don't worry about de others."

Tidus nodded in agreement. With a friendly wave and smile, Wakka left.

As soon as he was gone, Sora let out sigh of relief, only to have Riku's words from last night come to him.

_"Is Tidus gay?" "I wonder if he might have a crush on you, Sora."_

Telling himself it didn't matter if Tidus was like that or not, Sora lifted his face and gave the other boy a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Tidus," he said, and Tidus returned the smile. "I knew it was coming anyway, but I'm really glad you were here. I didn't think people were going to back me up."

"It wasn't a problem. They were being stupid," he replied, and then added, "much like the rest of the island. I don't see why people are making such a big deal out of this."

Sora recalled what his mother said about all the people visiting the house to ask her questions about him and Riku. It really _did_ seem as though the population was worried about this, just like Sora had been worried about.

The confrontations had started faster than he had expected, though. Somehow, he had a feeling Kairi's friends had something to do with it, considering their incessant need to gossip about everything. That's probably how the news had gotten out so fast.

Sora briefly considered asking Tidus about how he had called him his friend, but decided not to. Instead, he figured he might as well make the effort to _become_ his friend. "Er, you want to come inside? I could use some help."

A thankful smile crossed Tidus's face, and Sora realized that this encounter hadn't been scary for just him, but _Tidus_ as well. After all, the guy had just stood up against a whole army of his so-called friends. Tidus was probably relieved Sora was asking him to help.

"Sure, be glad to," he replied.

Unfortunately, before Sora even had a chance to talk to Tidus or lead him three feet into the house, there came a squeal and Selphie threw herself onto the blonde boy.

"Teeeeeedus!" she giggled. "You have to meet someone, he's sooo cool! He wears this cowboy hat and..." And she promptly began dragging the boy away from Sora.

"Cowboy hat?" Tidus was asking. "You mean Irvine...? I met him last night, Selphie."

But Selphie kept babbling, Tidus all the while laughing and not putting much of an effort to protest as she kidnapped him. Now that Sora was once again alone and safe, he figured he would go back to helping move boxes, only to discover they were already gone. He let out a loud sigh and looked around, feeling lost.

"Irvine picked up his pace and finished unexpectedly fast," came Leon's deep voice as he entered the hall. He settled Sora with a slightly concerned expression, and Sora suddenly felt exhausted. "You alright?"

Sora managed a short nod, feeling increasingly depressed. "Yeah, Tidus was there," he said as he passed Leon to enter the den area.

"We would have helped if we thought you had needed it," he said, and Sora was a little confused.

_Surely_ it looked like Sora had needed help in a situation like that, so why hadn't anyone thought he had needed it? Was it because they saw that Tidus had been there, too? Sora felt like he was in the middle of a conspiracy or something.

Leon casually drew his fingers through his hair as he followed Sora into the other room. "We're all here, if you really need the help. Anyway, Riku should be back soon."

Riku. That's right. There was something between Leon and Riku, Irvine had said. Sora wanted to know, but he somehow knew he wasn't going to get any answers from Leon/Squall.

"He should be back soon, and with his mysterious clerk, " Sora added, noticing Leon's disgruntled look at the mention of his new roommate. Undoubtedly Leon wasn't only irked about being stuck with a roommate, but also because Riku hadn't told anyone about this person, not even _Leon_, who seemed to be Riku's closest confidant.

"Yoo-hoo! Anybody home?"

And then there they were.

That female voice _definitely_ did not sound familiar to Sora, and that meant only one thing.

Riku was back, with his foreigner.

A young girl who looked barely older than Sora peeked her head into the den area, her short black hair eerily styled like Kairi's. A wide grin crossed her face when she spotted Sora and Leon there.

She gracefully stepped fully into the room and then, with a strange spring in her walk, she closed the distance between them.

"Hi! I'm Yuffie," she beamed and thrust her hand out towards Leon. "You must be Squall!"

Sora cautiously glanced at Leon, and was worried to see an aggravated look on the older man's face. Having lived with a perpetually happy woman all his life, Sora knew just how bad things could get around them, which was why he felt an overwhelming amount of pity for Leon, who certainly seemed to not like his new roommate, Yuffie.

"And you must be Riku's clerk," Leon ground out between his teeth while trying to sound polite. It wasn't working.

"Jeez," she laughed, "he didn't mention you were so hot!" But then a wry grin crossed her face. "And nope! I'm not Riku's clerk. I'm just here to see them off. I'll be returning to Atropos soon, hehe."

Sora stared. Leon suddenly looked positively murderous.

"What? You're not the clerk?" Sora asked, more than a little surprised. She seemed to fit all the evidence he and Irvine had found in that box! If she wasn't the new clerk, Sora was almost scared to find out just who _was_.

"Nope!" she laughed. Then she turned around and called, "Hey Riku! They thought I was moving in!"

Riku entered just then, an amused look on his face as he studied Sora's confused pout, and Leon's angry frown. "Why on earth would I hire you to be my clerk, Yuffie?" he said with a short chuckle, and Yuffie echoed the laugh.

"No idea!" she admitted, and with a wink at the boys, she turned to leave. "Gotta go now before I miss the next ferry!" she said and left, and in the next room she could be heard reprimanding someone, "Now you be good, you hear? I don't want to hear that _Riku_ kicked you out too!"

Meanwhile, Sora was beyond confused. "So who is she, then?" he asked.

"Who?" Riku asked.

"My roommate," Leon intoned solemnly, still looking quite livid from being tricked.

But no sooner had he said those words, one of the most gorgeous people Sora had ever seen walked into the room.

"I'm your roommate," he intoned in exactly the same unimpressed voice as Leon's.

Sora blinked. Several times.

It was a _man_, and he was as attractive as Leon and Riku and... and wow. Sora couldn't help gawking at the man and the way he was dressed like someone straight out of a movie, with his gorgeous blonde hair and _blue_ eyes, wearing a very loose, ruffled old-fashioned shirt that still somehow accented his great _body_, not to mention the Leon-like pants he was wearing... Just, **wow**.

And he wasn't alone. Knowing Leon was being just as obvious as he was, Sora was still staring at this newcomer when Riku smiled and gestured to him with his hand.

"Squall, Sora, this is Cloud. My new clerk."

There were no Nice to Meet Yous or further introductions. No, that was when things took an unexpected turn.

"But he's... He's a _guy_!" Sora said as he snapped out of his staring stupor, as though Cloud's appearance was the last thing he had expected (and it had been). Cloud looked a little offended, but didn't say anything as Sora continued. "I mean, what about those girl magazines, romance novels, and photographs in that box! I can understand the hair products now, but the other things—"

"You went through my stuff?" Cloud asked in a sterile voice, though it was obvious he was displeased and was still trying to be polite.

"Er, Irvine helped," Sora said with a sheepish smile.

"Not that it's your business," Cloud sighed, "those magazines have my modeling work in them and those romance novels were written by a friend of mine."

"But some of those magazines are dirty," Sora began, and then it clicked. "Ohhh... You're one of _those_ model friends of Riku's." He suddenly felt very stupid and rude. "Um... Sorry. Hehe."

"Yeah, Cloud is one of the people I posed with for that magazine," Riku added to clear things up, "but we never dated."

"Riku? Riku, you back?"

Everyone turned as one as Tifa entered the room, looking a little worried. Sora realized he hadn't seen her or Cid yet that day, and wondered what project they were working on.

"Ah, Riku, there you are, Cid's gone and done it again!" she sighed as she spotted Riku, half laughing even though she was obviously concerned. "He sort of got mad at the plumbing and bro—"

She froze. And stared. Everyone else just watched her, wondering, and then—

"_Cloud_? What the hell are _you_ doing here?" she asked, and the others exchanged surprised looks that Tifa knew who this Cloud person was.

"I was forcefully removed from my last apartment," Cloud muttered with an increasingly tired look. "Riku's letting me stay here in exchange for my services."

"Why were you, er, kicked out?" Tifa asked, and Sora had been wondering the same thing.

He was beginning to feel really snoopy, but he honestly wanted to know. Meanwhile Leon was now leaning against the wall, arms crossed and looking aloof.

"My girlfriend met my male lover," Cloud said in a tight voice, and left it at that. Sora sensed a long, long, bitter and painful story behind those few words, but as much as he wanted to know, he knew it wasn't his place to ask. Yet.

"Wait a sec," Tifa said, causing them all to pause. "Cloud's your clerk, Riku? So Cloud and Squall are roommates?" she asked with a doubtful look at Riku. "Riku, I hope you know what you're getting into."

"They can't be any worse than Selphie and my mother," Sora laughed, mostly to himself. He could have sworn he saw Leon twitch at his comment though. "How do you know him anyway, Tifa?" he wondered, and gave a sheepish smile when Cloud gave him a withering glance.

Grinning, Tifa gestured to Riku and Cloud. "We worked for the same magazine, remember? I didn't pose with either of them ever, but the after parties were fun."

Cloud cut in with a sigh. "Are you still interrogating me, or may I unpack now?"

Riku rubbed the back of his head and cleared his throat. "Sorry about that, Cloud. Let's go show you your room. Is his stuff up there already, Leon?"

"Yeah," the older man replied in a nonchalant tone.

Giving him a grateful smile, Riku nodded. "Thanks."

"Whatever," Leon muttered and pushed away from the wall, following them out of the room.

Tifa gave Sora a helpless shrug. "Well, I guess I'll take care of Cid myself," she said, stretching her arms behind her head as she turned to also leave. "See ya, kid!"

With nothing better to do, and feeling he wasn't welcome with the others, Sora gave a soft sigh and retreated to the kitchen to help his mother.

-o-o-

By that afternoon, Cloud and Squall were already sick of each other.

While unpacking Cloud and Squall's various reading materials and placing them neatly on the many shelves of the men's new room, Riku remained silent as he listened to the two of them bicker/attempt decent conversations with each other.

"What do you think you're doing?"

That was Squall, and he sounded irritated.

"Claiming the bottom bunk."

That was Cloud, and he too sounded irritated.

Riku couldn't help secretly smiling, though. He knew the two of them wouldn't get along right away, especially with their _conditions_ and differing tastes, but he was taking the risk anyway.

"I already claimed the bottom bunk," Squall said. "I've been here a few days."

At his words, Cloud gave a disapproving snort and tossed a small bag onto the top bunk. Riku watched as Cloud hoisted himself up and leaned over the railing to inspect the higher bunk; actually, to be more accurate, Riku watched _Squall_ watching Cloud as the blonde man stretched and gave the room a nice view of his slim hips and lovely leather-clad butt. Squall wasn't even being discrete about the staring either, and Riku found that highly amusing.

Cloud didn't.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked in a very accusing tone as he dropped back onto the ground and adjusted his rich white Romeo shirt, ruffles even more askew.

Raising an eyebrow at the blonde man, Squall simply said, "Nothing."

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that it's rude to stare?"

At the accusation, Squall merely shrugged. "Just returning the favor," he said casually as he went back to unpacking his many clothes.

Cloud gave a soft sigh and went back his own unpacking. Riku grinned at the two men's bickering, also quietly musing to himself that if the two older men compared clothes, they would find very similar wardrobes. Deciding to keep quiet for a while, the silver-haired boy continued to watch them in silence.

It was true, though. While both Squall and Cloud _were_ very similar, they had distinct differences that somehow made them very _dis_similar. Riku knew the two of them were going to have an awful time getting along, but Riku was willing to sacrifice their happiness for a friendship he knew would come from being stuck together like this.

There were a few difficult problems, however, like Cloud's recent misfortunes and Squall's past ones.

But Riku was hoping the two of them would heal each other. Well, that and _other_ things.

"Look, I'm not interested in you," Cloud was saying through clenched teeth. "At all. I really do not enjoy being ogled at like a piece of _Filet Mignon_."

"Actually I was staring because I couldn't figure out what you were supposed to be dressed as," Leon replied in a disinterested voice. "I went through Theater Queen and Emo Kid before I decided you were an just an idiot."

"You have a shirt just like that, you know," Riku commented quietly from his corner. Both Squall and Cloud settled him with glares but told him nothing, so he continued. "If you must know, Squall, Cloud is healing from a complicated relationship that started out with the other man giving him the same kind of looks you're giving him now. Cloud is just protecting himself from making the same mistake twice," he explained.

"Am not!" was Cloud's interjection.

"And Cloud, if you must know," Riku continued, "Squall is healing from something a lot more complicated than your own problems, so he pretends to be a cold bastard to hide what he's really thinking and feeling. He's really a sweet guy underneath it all."

"I am not," Squall said in an icy voice.

"And if both of you stopped being such big-headed idiots," Riku said with a tone of finality, "you'd see what you two really have in common."

Squall and Cloud exchanged equally irritated glares as they thought over Riku's words.

"_Really_," the younger boy insisted.

Both older men turned away from each other, but, as though to settle things...

"I claim the right to drown you with water if you snore too loud."

"Then I claim the right to burn any clothing you leave lying on the floor."

Riku sighed and shook his head, raising his head to glance out the door. Tifa, who had presumably been standing there for a while, gave Riku a look that clearly said, _Don't say I didn't warn you._

After giving her a confidant smirk, Riku went back to unpacking, feeling awfully good about himself.

-o-o-

Sora escaped his mother shortly after lunchtime and was home free of the dreaded dish duty his mother most likely would have set him with to keep him busy, had he not disappeared in time. Granted, he had volunteered his services to her in the first place, but now he was bored and wanted to find Tidus to talk.

But when he found Tidus, he realized that maybe he had extremely bad timing. On second thought, maybe it was extraordinarily _good_...

Selphie and Tidus were seated in the den area by themselves, just talking, probably taking a rest from working all day. Come to think of it, Sora still hadn't seen Tifa or Cid all day, and now Irvine was strangely missing too.

Anyway, it looked like they were having just a casual after lunch conversation, and so Sora was about to interrupt until he heard his name.

That was why he had extremely bad/extraordinarily good timing. Naturally curious as to why they were talking about him, he stood just outside the room and listened.

"So that's the big secret, huh?" Selphie was saying, oddly serious for once. This automatically piqued Sora's curiosity, considering he couldn't remember the last time he had witnessed a serious Selphie. "I always knew it wasn't just for his mother's food."

His mother's food? What? Were they referring to Tidus' constant visits to Sora's home to eat Seiya's cooking?

"Yeah," Tidus replied with a soft laugh.

A silence filled the large room for a moment, and Sora settled himself against the wall, expecting a long conversation. He wasn't sure what he expected to find out from his eavesdropping, but he certainly wasn't prepared for Tidus' next statement.

In a quiet voice, Tidus admitted, "I really _liked_ Sora."

Aforementioned Sora had to cover his mouth to keep from gasping Very Loudly.

_Tidus_ liked him? Riku had been right after all!

Holding his breath for fear of laughing absurdly or crying out loud, Sora quickly sifted through his memories with Tidus, trying to come up with when and exactly where and how Tidus had started liking him. Well, it was news to him. Where exactly had this come from? Sora had had no idea Tidus liked him like that!

Before Riku had come along, it was just Tidus always coming over for dinner to eat his mother's food, Tidus always inviting him to play blitzball with just him and Wakka, Tidus and Selphie stopping by to visit him on his lazy days...

A horrible thought struck Sora then: maybe _that_ was why Seiya liked Tidus so much. He liked Sora! There seemed to be a pattern all of a sudden. Seiya liked Tidus, Tidus _liked_ Sora. Seiya liked Riku, Riku _liked_ Sora.

Crap. Crapcrapcrap.

"But he has someone now, so that's cool," Tidus was saying, and Sora silenced his mind so he could listen more intently to the boy in the other room. "I'm happy for him," he continued, his tone honest. "I just wish I had known that Sora was like that. Maybe I would have had more courage then."

Sora heard Selphie sigh. If Sora had been in her spot, listening to this kind of confession, he would have been at a total loss for words.

"Tidus... Well, I would tell you that you still had a chance with him, but Riku's pretty _hot_, if you know what I mean. Anyway," she continued, her voice optimistic, "Sora's happy now, so you _should_ be happy for him! It seems like Riku knows a lot of great guys, so maybe he could introduce you to someone?"

"I don't want this to get out though," Tidus said, his voice hardening. No doubt he was thinking about his so-called blitzball friends. "What would happen if someone found out I liked _guys_? There would be a lot of chaos. You _know_ what people think of me."

"Yeah, you're perfect," Selphie giggled, but then grew serious again. She paused, sighing. "You're right, you can't really risk a relationship, can you? Still... I don't want you to mope around forever."

"I'm honestly happy for Sora. _Really_," Tidus insisted, and Sora could almost hear him smiling.

Yet again Sora felt a wave of guilt because of his own stupid impulses. Because Tidus had admitted his crush on Sora, Sora had reacted by being appalled, not flattered, and he had a feeling it was because Tidus was a boy, like him. For a moment Sora felt no better than the same guys that had insulted him earlier in the day for having a boyfriend.

Tidus _liked_ him. That wasn't a bad thing. No, that was so incredibly sweet. And it made things make a bit more sense. Granted, Tidus probably would have still stood up for Sora even if he hadn't liked him because Tidus was that kind of righteous guy. But because Tidus _did_ like Sora, it made it all the more meaningful.

"I'm glad he has Riku, " Tidus said quietly, but Sora heard him loud and clear. "I'll just keep being his friend. It's the least I can do."

Sora shouldn't have been so upset about Tidus liking him, just like he shouldn't have overreacted about Riku asking him to be his pretend boyfriend. When was he going to learn to shed his harsh assumptions and just take life as it was given to him?

Surely such pure motives as Tidus's feelings and Riku's freedom were more _right_ than the stereotypes society had built around them. Tidus's crush on Sora didn't make him a disgusting queer. It made him honest. Riku's want for a life of his own didn't make him a rebellious ingrate. It made him honest, too.

Somehow, Sora needed to learn that.

"Tidus, has anyone told you that you're such a sweet, adorable cream puff?" Selphie teased.

"Er... No?"

"Well, you are! Awww, Sora's so lucky to have you as a friend...! C'mere!"

"Ack, Selphie, no!" Tidus suddenly cried, half laughing as (Sora assumed) Selphie attacked him. "Ack, stop! Ow! Haha... Really, stop!"

Not wanting to interrupt such a cute moment between friends, Sora stepped away from the room, sighed, and left.

He hadn't known Tidus liked him like that, or that he had even considered himself a friend. Sora felt bad for never noticing, and bad for ruining Tidus's hope. But, what else could he do? Sora wasn't even... _y'know_... Sora didn't really like guys like that. At least, he didn't think he did. Well, he didn't know _how_ to like someone like that. He never had.

Also, the strong friendship that Tidus and Selphie had, it was priceless. Unmatchable. Sora had never had something like that, anyone to pounce and tickle, or confide secrets in, or cry on. The only one who came close was his mother, but she was family, not a friend.

He wanted a friend like that. Riku was somewhat like that, but Sora didn't know him _that_ well yet. Riku was...

Riku was...

"Hey, what's the matter?"

Ack, Riku was right there!

Sora looked up just in time to lightly crash into the other boy, who laughed and held Sora out to steady him. Riku looked tired, but also had a light of happiness in his eyes, and a bit of worry.

"Something wrong Sora? It's not like you to wander hallways studying the floor," Riku said in a teasing voice.

Pouting, Sora retorted, "How would you know? You've only known me a few days."

Riku feigned a wince. "Ouch, alright, that's fair," he admitted. "But there's no reason to snap at me. What's wrong?"

"Let's go upstairs," he mumbled, eyes lowering to the rug again. "I need to talk to you."

So they did. Riku's room seemed to be their official talking ground, the place to sort things out. When they got there, Sora flopped down into the papasan chair he had taken yesterday, and Riku took his bed again. He had closed the door to ensure momentary privacy, but somehow Sora still felt a little insecure.

"You wanted to talk?" Riku pointed out.

Sora curled up in the chair and sighed, not sure where to start. There was a lot to sort through, and a lot he wanted to ask still. But so many things were too delicate to just ask outright. In the end, he decided he ought to start with the things first and foremost on his mind.

"Well, first, there's the town," he began in a low voice, retelling what his mother had told him about the rumors and what he had witnessed himself today with the blitzball players. It wasn't a conversation as much as it was Sora's babbling and Riku's staring.

Riku rested peacefully on his blankets, watching the boy's facial expression change again and again as he spoke. He especially liked Sora's lips, how easily they frowned or smiled, or puckered out for a cute pout. And his eyebrows, how delicately they moved into confused or surprised expressions to accent his pretty blue eyes.

"People are already really unsettled about our relationship, Riku, and it's only been a day," Sora rambled on, Riku only half listening.

He watched Sora's graceful hands gesture to add meaning to his words, and watched how he sometimes made nervous movements when he was unsure of what to say, or disturbed about what he _was_ saying.

"...they started to throw insults at me... Tidus was the one who stood up for me, and Wakka..."

Riku liked the little things about him, like how he played with his hands when he was nervous, half bit his lip with just a hint of pearly white teeth, lowered his eyes to study nothing in particular, or slipped his fingers through his messy, messy hair.

"And you were right about Tidus," Sora continued on and on. "I overheard him telling Selphie just a few minutes ago. Tidus really liked me."

"Did he?" Riku asked softly, almost unaware he was actually speaking because he was concentrating on the other boy too much, but he had to comment on this. He had had a hunch about Tidus's behavior, and he had been right. In an almost inaudible voice, Riku added, "Guess I've got competition..."

Riku's eyes never left Sora's figure, but Sora was too distracted to notice.

"Yeah," the other boy said absently, not really noticing what Riku had said last. He paused as though to search for another subject to bring up. Sora hardly noticed that he was basically carrying the conversation by himself. "Oh, and I saw Kairi today. I think she's spying on us," he continued with a frown.

"If she's spying, maybe we ought to give her a show," Riku suggested, lewd thoughts running through his mind.

"Huh?" Sora didn't seem to catch that. "Oh, and I meant to ask you. What's up with Cloud?"

The question caught Riku off guard. "Hm?" he asked, shaking his head to clear his mind and register what Sora had asked him.

"Cloud," Sora repeated patiently. "Cloud modeled for naughty magazines. You worked with Cloud."

"Oh, yeah..." Riku paused to think. "Well, there's not much to say. The two of us never dated. We just worked together," he explained, smiling as he studied the line of Sora's neck, and how skinny the boy looked under the baggy clothes he was wearing today. How _cute_ he looked without even making an effort. Naïve, that's what the boy was.

Sora frowned, not really sure why Riku was assuring him about Cloud like that. It wasn't like Sora was jealous, he just honestly wanted to know about Cloud, but it seemed like Riku wasn't in much of a mood to talk. "I guess I'll just ask Cloud then, " he murmured, raising his eyes to meet Riku's.

Erk.

Sora froze, eyes widening at the intense stare Riku was giving him. "Riku?" he hedged.

Riku drew out of his thoughts, focusing sharply on Sora's face. "Yeah?"

"Um... never mind," Sora said slowly, a little nervously. He decided to change the subject again. "How's progress on the house?"

Rolling onto his back, Riku gestured up to the ceiling. "Ahead of schedule, actually, with Cid and the others working so hard. I think my aunt will be really impressed with progress when she gets back in a few days."

Few days. That's right, they only had a few days left until she got back and discovered that Riku and Sora had a 'relationship.'

Hm... Now was probably a good time to practice, but Sora was feeling a little lazy. Judging from the way Riku was sprawled out on his bed, _he_ was feeling the midday laziness too. A nap sounded really good.

Slowly, Sora climbed out of the papasan chair and climbed sluggishly onto the bed next to Riku, who barely moved to let him on.

"What're you doing, Sora?" he mumbled. He had one arm flung over his eyes, and when Sora went to settle under the covers, Riku lifted the arm to blink at the younger boy. "Why are you getting into my bed?"

"It looked comfy, and it is," Sora said with a tired grin. "Nappy time."

Frowning, Riku studied him for a moment. "Can I join you?"

"Your bed."

"Huh, that's right. Move over."

And so the two boys settled into the large bed, feather-soft blankets pooled around them as they snuggled into the pillows to get comfortable. Sora didn't really mind when Riku's hand suspiciously rested on his hip, because Sora's limbs were practically entwined with the other boy's anyway. It was oddly comforting, the closeness. There was nothing awkward about the situation to the boys, or their positions, and that in itself was awkward.

It didn't take long for both of them to drift off, but it was a light sleep, Sora's mind still whirling with questions and memories of the earlier part of the day. Whenever one of the boys adjusted positions, the other woke up, and they fell asleep together again.

Hours passed that way, passed beyond the time the ceiling was dyed orange from the sunset outside the window, and the shadows of the room were stretching over them. They missed half a day's work and then dinner, but both were too comfortable to move, even when Seiya, Selphie, _and _Leon checked up on them on separate occasions.

It was well past dessert time when Sora was awoken from his long nap by Riku.

"Hey, it's really late," Riku whispered in his ear, and Sora buried his face into Riku's shoulder to escape the responsibility of waking up. "You're not hungry?"

"Nuu," Sora murmured.

"Me either."

Silence reigned for a moment, and then...

"Sora?"

"Hm?"

"You're awfully heavy."

Sora lifted his head. Much to his embarrassment, he was practically _lying_ on Riku. Without really wondering how he had ended up like that, Sora sat up and mumbled an apology, sleepily blinking into the dark room. The moon was the only light he could see by, and that really wasn't much to his tired eyes.

He could feel Riku's eyes on him as he scratched his neck and yawned, slowly waking up. He had to admit he didn't really mind being stared at by Riku, but for the life of him he didn't see what was so interesting about himself that Riku would _want_ to watch him all the time.

He was still wondering about it when Riku slipped his arms around him and pulled him down. It wasn't until Sora felt Riku's tongue that he realized they were kissing. Well, that Riku was kissing _him_.

Pulling away briefly, Sora asked, "What're you doing, Riku?" in a sort of whiny voice he only used when he was tired and confused.

"Practicing," was Riku's very short reply as he pulled Sora down again.

Oh, practicing. Sora felt it was more like he was being eaten, but oh well.

Parting his lips, Sora let Riku enter his mouth and take complete control of the kiss, his mind much too fuzzy from sleep to really concentrate on being a good participant in this practice session. Riku kept pulling at him, drawing him closer for a deeper kiss, and Sora weakly moved his lips against his, unsure of how to react. It was a faster kiss than the ones from yesterday, a lot more desperate and less sweet. The way his tongue searched his mouth and played with his, the way their lips moved together and separated sometimes, and how saliva had escaped and was trailing down Riku's soft, pale cheek...

Sora blushed, listening to the wet sounds their kiss was making, listening to Riku's sharp breath when he remembered to breathe, and listening to the rustle of blankets against their bodies as Riku adjusted Sora so that they kept getting closer, and closer, and...

Holy shit! Riku was—

Sora quickly tried to pull away, but Riku slid his arms around his waist and jerked him back down, their hips brushing together. Sora audibly gasped into the kiss as Riku's fingers trailed up his shirt and traced his ribs, but Riku only took the surprised reaction as an opportunity to delve more deeply into Sora's mouth.

Heart racing, now getting scared, Sora shifted backwards in the bed. He managed to completely pull away just as Riku's hands trailed a little too high and eagerly.

For a moment Riku just rested there with Sora perched on top of him, both of them gasping for air and not meeting each other's face.

It wasn't until the door opened and the light switched on that either of them moved again. Riku knew who was at the door and didn't bother to look, but Sora was quick to leap off the bed and hurry past the newcomer, blushing ear-to-ear. Sora left no parting words, and that was what worried Riku.

"What did you do to him?" came the familiar voice of Squall as the man shut the door and locked it.

This time Riku sat up, sighing as he ran a hand through his hair and wiped the wet from his face with a blanket.

"I'm moving too fast like I thought I would," Riku admitted. He glanced up at Squall and frowned, feeling a sense of helplessness fill him. "Squall... He really doesn't know what he _does_ to me. It's **so** frustrating that I can't get close to him, like how I want to be... I don't even know what he thinks of me."

"Hn." Squall crossed the floor to the bed, sensing Riku's change of mood.

Both of them were used to this kind of situation, but neither of them were ashamed about why they had this kind of arrangement. It never occurred to them to worry about it. Their relationship just _was_, even now, even after the silly plan Squall had suggested to come here and seek Riku's happiness. There was no explanation for their relationship. They understood it without words.

"I think I scared him this time, but... I couldn't help it," Riku muttered sadly, looking down at his hands, and Squall was there to place his own over Riku's. "I'm so glad to be back, and that I got to see him again. But he's grown on me even more. Is it possible to fall in love with the same person twice?"

Squall slowly sank to his knees, carefully studying Riku's down-turned face as he squeezed the boy's hands.

"Squall... I don't know how much of this I can take, not being able to touch him," Riku said helplessly. "I can't... _help_ it." He looked like _Riku_ as Squall knew him, not the one the others knew him as. Irvine, Tifa, even Cid—they didn't know this Riku.

With an understanding sigh, Squall reached forward and pulled on Riku's hips, bringing him closer to the edge of the bed. When his hands began to undo Riku's shorts, the younger boy seemed to wake up from his melancholic trance.

"Squall, why do you stay with me?" he asked as if Squall hadn't been pulling his shorts open at all.

"I like making you happy," was Squall's short reply. There was more, but Riku already knew the rest. "Don't complain."

As Squall's fingers traced over the elastic waist of his black underwear, Riku pressed a hand over his eyes, sounding guilty. "I'm... I'm sorry for dragging you here. ...about Sora... and..."

Squall hesitated, and then very gently continued his task. He was used to filling the empty space in Riku's heart. "It was my idea, remember? Do you want my help or not?" Squall asked, and he knew Riku knew Squall wasn't just asking about Sora, but also about Riku's frustration.

"Y-Yeah," Riku breathed, beginning to relax. He squeezed his eyes shut and shivered as Squall easily slipped a hand under the black elastic and wrapped around him, his warm hand familiar.

Squall's deep voice filled his ears as his hand worked him to completion. "Sora will come around eventually. He just doesn't understand yet."

"And you do," Riku said softly, voice hoarse. It wasn't a question, or even admittance.

It just was.

Across the street in his own bed, Sora curled up on himself. He was confused. _Beyond_ confused. And he was trying to come up with a reasonable explanation as to why his body had _liked_ Riku's touches, and why it now refused to calm down.

His heart wouldn't stop its insistent dancing, his face refused to cease its blushing, and then there was a little _problem_ Sora didn't want to admit even existed. He would be drowning himself in cold, cold water at the moment, but he was too confused. Too scared.

Too _happy_.

Just _why_ had he liked it so much?

* * *

-o-o-

All will (hopefully) be explained, don't worry. Thank you so so so SO **SO** much for all the reviews! I am literally awed at the number, when so few chapters have been released and I've been such a slacker. It makes me so happy to get so much feedback! Thank you for your patience! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and that it was worth the wait...


	6. Ch 6: His Fairytale Happiness

_Author's Notes:_

**Happy birthday, A Complete 180°!** You turn 1 year today! Wow, I'm certainly surprised about all the different responses about the Leon/Riku! Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! They really brighten my day. Thanks to Falaphesian for the early b-day present! It really boosted my confidence and helped me finish this in time! XD And of course thanks to Shiva-Jo for staying up with me all those nights and encouraging me to continue!

And don't worry about Tidus! Hehe, I have plans for him. But those parts come much later...

* * *

_**  
Chapter Six: His Fairytale Happiness**_

-o-o-

Zero Sleep... Long Day Ahead... Confronting Sora After Last Night...

Less Than Excited.

That was what Riku felt as he less-than-enthusiastically climbed the stairs to Sora's room the morning after his Big Mistake. There was no doubt in his mind that Sora was going to call the whole pretend boyfriend business off after last night's 'practice session.'

Geh.

Riku felt like such an ass, losing control like that and taking advantage of Sora.

He'd blown his chance. That was it. No way in hell was Sora going to continue this charade or want to do anything with Riku ever again. All that trouble of coming back here, all his plans gone to waste, all those years wasted dreaming... For nothing.

Needless to say, because he was in such a pessimistic state of mind, Riku was genuinely surprised when he reached Sora's room and saw what he saw.

Sora was, well, getting ready.

Piles of clothes littered the small room and Sora was digging through his dresser, tossing unwanted articles of clothing over his shoulder as he rummaged on. Several different outfits were lying on his unkempt bed, as well as a wet towel that had probably had the privilege of curling around Sora's naked body after a hot shower.

The boy's hair was still wet and dripping small rivers down the boy's bare chest, down to the waistband of his baggy boxers.

Mmm... Nice thoughts.

Riku couldn't help noticing that Sora was having an awful lot of problems picking out what to wear for today. He was almost being as finicky as a girl. Or, well, a guy bent on style like Cloud. Sora was definitely not Cloud-like.

That, and coupled with the fact Sora was _awake_, led Riku to believe something was up.

Forgetting for the moment about his predicament and their little scene last night, Riku stepped foot in the disaster area that was Sora's room.

"Er... Sora?"

At Riku's voice, the boy suddenly froze, and after a moment's pause he spun around with blue eyes wide with panic, two hands timidly holding a pair of upside down shorts to his chest as a makeshift shirt. A fake grin planted itself on Sora's face.

"R-Riku!" he said with phony cheer, a prominent blush painting his cute face. "I was just getting ready!"

Riku raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Aren't you usually sleeping at this time?" he asked.

And Sora usually _was_. Riku had been hoping to wake the boy himself so that Sora's mind would be too fogged with sleep to really concentrate on what Riku was talking about as Riku apologized for last night.

Yet here the boy was, making quite an effort of readying himself for another long day at Riku's house, which was strange because Sora hadn't made an effort to look good the last two mornings. In fact, if Riku recalled, Sora almost skipped his shower that one day Riku came to wake him up. Besides, Sora waking himself up _early_ seemed rather iffy. The boy was up to something.

"I am?" Sora asked innocently, and Riku couldn't tell if it was an act this time. "What time is it anyway?"

"Seven-thirty. I don't think your mom is even up yet."

Blue eyes filled with disbelief. "What? Then what the heck are you doing over here?"

Damn. Riku was busted.

"Hehe..." he chuckled uneasily, passing it off as casual as he ran a hand through his hair and flicked it behind his shoulder, meanwhile trying to come up with a good excuse. He said the first one that came to his mind. "Er, I wanted to watch you sleeping?"

When Sora gave him a concerned, embarrassed look, Riku realized what he had just said.

"Ah—I mean I just wanted to tell you what we were doing today!" he quickly corrected.

"You couldn't just tell me when I got over there?" Sora asked slowly, giving the other boy a confused frown.

Riku could only give him a sheepish grin, not trusting himself to reply just then. Lack of sleep totally did not make him into a believable fibber. Ugh, if he wasn't such a coward in the first place, he wouldn't have to put himself in this kind of situation.

Thankfully Sora just accepted his silence and sighed. "Well, um... I need to get ready," the boy said, realizing he was still covering himself with a pair of shorts. He slowly lowered them and returned Riku's awkward grin. "I'll be over to your house in a few minutes."

"Alright," Riku replied, giving a small nod as he turned away, pausing for a brief moment to let his gaze linger on Sora's form before he left.

Even though he knew he had crossed the line last night with Sora's privacy, Sora didn't seem mad at him, and that was enough to calm Riku's worry. Sora hadn't mentioned anything about it, but Riku decided to go easy on the boy today anyway, just in case. He didn't want to scare Sora away for good, so he'd probably have to postpone the day's practice session.

That didn't help Riku any, though.

As he descended the stairs of Sora's home, he wrapped his arms around himself, a wide smile curving over his lips. When he concentrated, he could still feel Sora's trembling muscles beneath his fingers, the soft warmth of his skin beneath his lips... He could still smell his boyishness, taste his tongue, and hear his little groans of desire.

Ahhh... Riku had it bad, didn't he?

Ahhh... Shit. This day was going to be torture.

-o-o-

"Looks like it's going to rain today."

Sora looked up from his bowl of slush to stare at Riku. For some reason, he didn't take Riku as the type to comment on the weather like that. Then again, monsoon season _was_ fast approaching. Summer showers were really common, especially on this island.

"Yeah, probably," Sora replied, spooning his breakfast to take a bite.

"Sora, you've been trying to eat that bowl of cereal for an hour," Riku commented from the other side of the table. He was finishing off one of the many pies he had gotten as house-warming gifts from the women who had dropped by.

"After living with a cook-crazy mother for eighteen years, sometimes it's nice just to have cereal," Sora said as he slurped at his spoon.

Pushing the pie plate aside, Riku sighed. "I can understand that, but you've been trying to eat it so long that it's no longer cereal. That's my point."

After glancing down at his slushy cereal, Sora merely shrugged. "Oh well. I like it this way." He didn't. It tasted like crap, but...

Sora hadn't gotten a wink of sleep last night after he'd run away from Riku's practice session. He'd stayed up all night picturing Riku lying next to him every time he closed his eyes, imagining that his pillow was Riku's arm beneath him, that the sheet's edges at his waist were Riku's fingers. As much as he wanted to deny every second of last night and what he had done to pass the time, he couldn't. As much as he wanted to pretend his crying into his pillow was out of frustration, not because he was trying to muffle a different kind of cry, he couldn't.

And, as much as he would like to forget the way Riku's hands felt on his body because remembering it distracted him to no end, it was impossible. He'd even ruined his yummy cereal this morning because he'd been too troubled to remember eating it.

That was something Sora couldn't very well confess to Riku, could he? Thus, their little game of fibs this morning.

Besides, Riku was sitting right there. Right _there_. Looking all cool and calm and like nothing in the world was bothering him. Looking gorgeous...

...what was wrong with him?

Sora let out a distressed sigh and began gobbling his sludgy breakfast, fighting back a hopeless sob.

He wasn't gay!

Riku was just really pretty, that's all! Heck, Sora had thought he was a girl all those years, so it's not weird to still be attracted to him, right? Ohhh... who was he kidding? What kind of straight boy agrees to be another guy's pretend boyfriend?!

"Sora, you alright?"

Sora glanced up, chunky brown cereal sludge dribbling down his chin as he blinked at Riku. "Huh?"

A crooked smile pulled at the corner of Riku's mouth. "Real attractive."

Lower lip sticking out into a pout, Sora wiped at his mouth with the tail of his shirt, accidentally lifting it high enough to flash Riku. When he was done cleaning himself and saw the older boy staring at him with _that look_, Sora realized what he had done and blushed.

Sora knew Riku fancied him, but Riku's intent stare still never failed to embarrass him. Well, it wasn't like Riku was going to jump him right there if the boy accidentally showed some skin or let his guard down and pretended they were normal friends and nothing had happened last night.

But, Sora had already started crossing that line of friendship. Even though he was acting more cautious around Riku, he had spent all morning getting ready to impress the older boy so he _would_ be noticed more. Usually Sora wasn't picky about what he wore, but Riku made him want to look good, too.

He had _no idea_ what was going on in his head anymore. Today he was just a bunch of contradictions and he didn't know what the heck he was supposed to say to Riku. Even his emotions were being all weird...

_Argh, stop thinking!_

"So what are we doing today?" Sora asked, trying to escape his own mind for a second. "Since that's what you came to wake me up for." Which he knew was a total lie, but Sora didn't want to mention that and upset Riku.

The older boy lifted his head to smile at Sora. "Well, we need to move the flooring inside before it starts to rain," he said as he dragged his glass of milk closer to himself. "I was going to get some people started with repainting the walls... And I know Cid was going to work on the upstairs plumbing. There's also a lot of work to be done in all the guest rooms upstairs, and Cloud and Leon are still getting settled in, so I know they won't be much help today."

"So... A lot of work, huh?" Sora said with a sigh, slouching onto the table and resting his head in his hands, next to his bowl of once-cereal. Then, realizing Riku had forgotten to mention the most important plans of the day, Sora frowned and lifted his chin, giving the other boy a confused look. "You didn't say what we're practicing today."

Riku, who had been taking a gulp of his milk, suddenly choked into his glass and quickly set it down, giving Sora a guilty look as he wiped at his mouth. "I, um... didn't think you'd want to continue... after last night," he admitted slowly, obviously not wanting to bring up the subject.

Ohh, so that's why Riku had been acting weird.

Lowering his eyes to avoid Riku's, Sora fought back a blush, hundreds of thoughts and fears and remembrances running through his mind at the mention of _last night_. But as much as he also wanted to avoid discussing the situation, he knew it'd do neither of them good.

"It scared me," he confessed with a tiny grin. "But I told you I'd do this for you, so I'll be okay with anything you do."

Sora didn't see it, but a happy smile crossed Riku's lips, the boy honestly touched by Sora's small promise. "Alright..." he said softly, falling silent for a moment to think. "If you're sure it's okay... We'll start touching and necking later today."

Even though he was a little unsettled at the slight eagerness in Riku's voice, Sora looked up with confidence in his eyes and gave a small nod. "Alright."

"Hey."

Both boys turned in their chairs as they were interrupted. Cloud and Leon stood in the doorway of the dining room with similar weary expressions on their faces, and Sora had no doubt that their exhaustion stemmed from sharing the same room upstairs. He had a feeling their first day and night together hadn't been pleasant.

"Tifa called my cell," Leon said. "She and Cid are on their way over."

"And Riku," Cloud said, his voice tight with growing frustration, "I need to speak with you. Alone."

Riku seemed to understand Cloud's tone immediately. Giving Sora an apologetic smile, he rose to his feet and scratched the back of his head. "Er, sorry Sora. I'll meet up with you later."

Cloud was already out of the room by the time Riku had pushed his chair in. Leon exchanged a pointed look with the silver-haired boy before he left, leaving Leon and Sora in the dining room alone. Taking note of all the silent talking going on, Sora sighed to himself, feeling totally left out of the loop. Leon didn't leave at first, however; Sora watched with mild curiosity as the man gathered up Riku's clean pie plate and cup of milk and turned towards the kitchen.

Hmm... Sora could make good use of this situation.

Quickly getting up and retrieving his own breakfast bowl, Sora followed him with a hurried, "Wait a sec!"

Leon turned to regard him with a gentle frown as they entered the kitchen together and approached the sink. "Yes?" he asked, his voice actually tinged with interest.

Usually Leon always acted bored towards everyone else, but for some reason he lightened up when Sora talked to him. Sora didn't know if it was his fault or something Leon did on purpose, but it was kinda cool. At first Sora had been really confused by the man's cold, silent nature, and common friendly side to only Sora or Riku, but now Sora found himself really liking the older man even if he was a bit intimidating and standoffish.

Out of the other foreigners to the island, Leon seemed to be the closest to Riku, so Sora thought he was the ideal person to ask questions to now that they were alone. He hadn't had the chance to talk to the older man before, so now seemed like the perfect time before everyone got to work.

Sora smiled brightly at him as they set the dishes in the sink, Leon's gray eyes watching him with interest.

"Are you and Riku still... y'know... together?" Sora hastily asked, afraid the man was going to get mad at him for being nosy, or laugh at him for still calling himself straight when he was so interested in Riku's love life.

Leon did neither. With a small, amused quirk of his lips, he replied, "No, we're not. What gives you that impression?"

Blushing, Sora gave a sheepish grin and laughed. "Oh... well, you two seem really close."

Leon casually leaned against the counter, running a hand through his fine hair. "Our romantic relationship expired very quickly," he explained simply, "if there ever was any romance."

"You didn't love him?" Sora asked with a confused blink.

"We understand each other," Leon replied. "He helped me when I most needed it... and I want to see him happy."

Softly puckering his lips in thought, Sora gave the man a crooked look. "But you're not happy?"

There was a brief pause as Leon gave a soft, contemplative sigh, his body tensing a little against the counter. "Happiness isn't something that is given to you," he said as he lowered his gaze, staring absently at the linoleum floor. "You make it. I'm simply helping Riku make his." He hesitated, raising his face to regard Sora again. "I'll be free to find happiness when he's made his."

"I see..." Sora said softly, a little relieved though he didn't know why.

Leon seemed to catch it, however. With a certain playful glint in his eye, he assured, "If you're worried about our sexual excursions, they're harmless."

Sora blushed furiously this time, feigning nonchalance as he stuttered, "W-Why would I care about that?"

Actually, Sora did care.

He'd honestly been worried about that, that maybe Riku and Leon were still, well, doing _that_. He kept telling himself it didn't matter where Riku got his release from because Sora was just his _pretend_ boyfriend and shouldn't be concerned about Riku's real love life. But, he was still confused as to why Riku asked _him_ to play the boyfriend role, not Leon who was clearly closer to Riku. Or even Irvine or Cloud. Riku obviously knew Sora was straight and uncomfortable in any kind of close relationship with people, so why did he insist on using Sora?

There was some deeper reason behind it, and that mystery was eating at Sora's curiosity. In fact, Sora wanted to know everything about Riku's life in Atropos. From his time at school and modeling, to his love life.

Though, at the moment, he was a little more concerned about the love life part, especially after his restless night of confusion.

Leon was just smirking at him. Evidently he knew _a lot_ more than he was letting on. "As sturdy as your mask of innocence is, I can see through it," he said as he folded his arms across his chest. "You may be fooling Riku, but I see your interest in him."

Sora lowered his eyes, knowing he couldn't argue with that because it was true. His interest, his confusion, his _feelings_... They all pointed to the one thing Sora wanted to deny.

"Riku's been handled with a few men—not many—but enough to know what he really wants," Leon continued in a firm voice. "I'm not what he's searching for," he admitted. "I never was. We both knew that when we started messing around."

Sora frowned at that piece of information, wondering what the point of dating was if Riku knew he couldn't find what he wanted in Leon or the other guys he had dated. Leon seemed to have that answer too.

"He wanted different things from his past relationships," Leon explained. "With me, it was comfort. Even though we're not involved like that anymore, I'm still indebted to him, and I still provide him with that comfort."

Comfort? Comfort from what? What was Riku insecure about?

"I know it disturbs you, our relationship," Leon said, smiling again at the boy as though to reassure him of something. "But he needs it until he finds what he's searching for here."

Eyes widening as he let all of Leon's words sink in, Sora softly hummed to himself in thought, impressed with the eloquent and mature way Leon had explained things with him. Leon wasn't being possessive at all, and that was what surprised Sora. Leon really _was_ doing all of this for free. He really _was_ trying to the best of his ability to help Riku realize his dreams and find what he was searching for. Not once in the few days Sora had known him had Leon really complained about anything Riku asked of him.

Just _what_ had Riku done for Leon to make him so loyal?

"You _do_ love him," Sora realized aloud, face lit with wonder.

With a faint smile Leon replied, "But not the way _you_ should."

Sora blinked in surprise. "Eh?"

"Riku is more fragile than he seems," Leon warned. "He's just as scared as you are."

"Who's scared of what?" a slick voice suddenly interrupted.

Sora glanced up in time to see Irvine grab an apple from a bowl on the counter.

"Hey," Leon greeted solemnly. "When did you get here?"

"A second ago," Irvine replied with a smooth wink as he polished the apple on his fitting white shirt, which had a small yellow star centered on the chest. It looked like something a girl would wear, Sora noted to himself with a little concern about Irvine's style.

But with a friendly smile, Sora said, "I think I'm going to go find Riku and see if he's done talking to Cloud."

And before Irvine or Leon could reply, Sora left the kitchen. The self-proclaimed cowboy watched after the boy with a raised eyebrow, pointing after him with his index finger, the rest of his hand easily holding onto his apple.

"What's with the kid? He scared of me or something?" he asked.

Leon shook his head. "No, he probably wants to be alone for a while."

"Hmm..." Irvine took a bite of his apple and thoughtfully chewed as he studied Leon's casual stance. Leaning against the table, he gave the other man a funny smirk. "What's eating _you_?"

Leon gave him a pointed glare.

"Hey man, I'm just trying to help," Irvine laughed, holding up a hand in mock surrender. "Out of the time we've known each other, I've never seen you _this _moody."

"It's Riku," Leon admitted with a sigh, uncrossing his arms to adjust his position against the counter.

"Of course," Irvine commented. "What else is new?" But then he suddenly dropped his playful act, lowering his face but still watching Leon from under the rim of his cowboy hat, eyes serious. "Need to talk about it?"

Another sigh. "It's complicated."

Giving a soft laugh, Irvine took another bite of his apple, saying in between chews, "Yeah, let me guess... You feel bad for screwing around with Riku."

Leon glared, but the other man only saw it as an encouraging sign.

"Hey, it's not a bad thing," Irvine assured. "Your physical relationship was okay back when you two were still in Atropos and Riku was still, well, dreaming about this insane idea of his..." He paused to give Leon a meaningful look. "But now you're here and helping Riku live that dream and you've _met_ the kid he's in love with. You're feeling guilty for still messing around with Riku when he's so obviously in love with someone else."

"Sora does deserve Riku's full attention," Leon admitted, his voice dropping a little. "But whatever. Riku and I aren't _messing around_. He knows what he's doing when he lets me comfort him. He needs the help."

"Yeah, I get it, I get it," Irvine said with a smirk. "And you're the bad guy for administering that _help_."

"Precisely."

With a soft chuckle, Irvine wiped at his mouth and set his apple on the table. "You can't still have feelings for Riku," he said. "Otherwise you wouldn't be here helping him. Granted, it's hard not to stare at that boy's ass, if you know what I mean... I still catch myself sometimes."

Leon gave the other man a withering look. "What's your point?"

Raising a hand to emphasize his speech, Irvine explained in a reasonable tone, "We've all seen that Sora's finally realizing just why he gets a stiffy when he thinks about his best friend. You're guilty about coming between those boys' _adorable_ blossoming romance, but you also feel obligated like it's your duty to help Riku out in _that_ area, because you've been doing it for so long." Irvine paused, smirking a little as he pointed at the other man. "My point is... Maybe you should start helping Riku out in _other_ ways? Maybe Riku's already 'found what he's looking for here.'"

"So you _were_ eavesdropping," Leon sighed, recognizing his own words in Irvine's statement. His eyes lowered in thought. Even though Irvine was off about a few details, he did have a point.

"True, Riku's sexual tension is likely to get unbearable without anyone to take it out on," Irvine continued half to himself with an amused laugh, "because we both know how horny that kid can get... And both he and Sora might suffer from Riku's frustration..."

Leon pushed away from the sink with a small smile at the mention of Riku's low tolerance. "But it's not our business anymore," he said, sharing a knowing look with Irvine.

They both had the same idea.

"Exactly," the cowboy agreed with a wicked smirk. "Not our business. So you won't be helping out anymore with Riku's _problems_ right?"

"No."

"Good."

The two men exchanged scheming smiles again.

"So how long do you wager before Sora loses his virginity?" Irvine asked.

"With Riku's tolerance...?" Leon hesitated, his smile widening as he mentally calculated. "Three days, and Riku will have the kid tied to his mattress."

Irvine broke into wild laughter, his breath hitching as he managed to choke out, "Haha, I thought I'd _never_ hear something like that from you!!"

With a raised eyebrow, Leon chuckled. "Whatever."

"Man, something _must_ be wrong with you, for you to joke around with me like this," Irvine said, his voice still filled with excessive mirth. "You don't have anything to argue?"

"I'm just tired," Leon admitted.

"You become more friendly when you're tired?" Irvine jeered with a grin as he picked his apple back up. "No, I think you're just frustrated. Riku must not have been returning your favors or something. You need a boyfriend, Squall. Y'know? Some romping in the sheets could do you some good."

Leon, to the other man's credit, managed a tiny smile of amusement. "That obvious, huh?" he said, pausing to consider what it'd be like to have a real relationship again. "Maybe. It might be nice." He casually raised a hand to brush his hair back, turning away from his friend to leave the kitchen. "But whatever. My needs come after Riku's right now. I won't even look until he's happy."

A little surprised at that, Irvine asked, "You're that bent on repaying that debt, eh? What _did_ he do for you?"

Pausing on his way out the door, Leon regarded Irvine with a solemn look before wistfully smiling. "He owns me."

-o-o-

After Sora had left the kitchen to find Riku, he had been unfortunately caught by his mother who had, unlike Riku'd thought, not been asleep when they'd left, and had instead been at the market looking for everything she needed to fill up Riku's kitchen for her job.

"I couldn't find most of the appliances and cookingware that I wanted, so I probably have to take the ferry and some strong arms with me to buy and carry the stuff back here," she said very enthusiastically and quickly, showing Sora her extensive list of items.

Blue eyes widened at the amount. "M-Mom, are you sure you'll need all this?"

"Of course! I'm going to be his chef, darling!" she giggled, patting him gently on the head. "I'm taking you shopping with me in a little while, so don't make too many plans with Riku yet. We need to get as much stuff as we can before the storm hits."

Frowning a little at that, Sora asked, "A storm? I thought it was just going to rain."

"Oh no, some nice gentleman at the market told me the radar from the mainland said it was a storm. A big one, too." She paused, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "Ohh, I love thunderstorms..."

"Eh.. heh..."

And thus, Sora never got to find Riku and finish talking to him. Sometimes he thought his mother would be the death of him...

He was about to tell her so when she suddenly stood on her tiptoes and dramatically waved, calling out, "Cloudie!! Good morning!!"

Sure enough, when Sora glanced behind him, there stood the quiet blonde, Riku nowhere in sight. A little disappointed about Riku's disappearance, Sora still managed to notice something strange about what had just happened.

Wait.

_Cloudie_? Since when was his mother so familiar with Cloud?

She brushed past Sora and pulled the blonde into an awkward hug, beaming with happiness. "So nice to see you again!"

Sora was amazed that when his mother let go of the man, Cloud was very unfazed by her attack. Seiya seemed to sense her son's confusion, or maybe she just saw the bizarre expression on his face, so she took a second to explain.

"While you and Riku had your long nap yesterday, everyone else got to know Cloud better during dinner," she said. "And he agreed to help me shop! So get along, you two!"

Both Sora and Cloud gave the woman a look as though she were crazy.

"Er, alright," the boy said with a meek smile at his mother, turning to Cloud with a more friendly grin. "I know we met yesterday, but I'm Sora."

"The famous Sora," Cloud commented, his serious face softening into a small smile. "You have no idea how excited Riku is to be back here."

And as Seiya took up where Cloud left off and fell into one of her long rants, Sora contemplated Cloud's words and wondered of their significance. Well, one thing was for sure. Sora had found another person to leech information from.

Whatever secrets Riku was hiding from Sora would _not_ stay secrets for long.

-o-o-

The trip to the market was for the most part uneventful, as Sora expected it to be. The shopping spree was a little hurried thanks to the darkening storm clouds overhead and his mother's eagerness to get back to the house to 'test drive' some of her new equipment, so Sora was still in high spirits when they decided to head back to the house, even though he was now lugging four heavy shopping bags. As his mother walked ahead and he and Cloud struggled to keep up, Sora decided it was an opportune time to get on Cloud's good side.

"Hey, I'm sorry for being so rude yesterday," Sora said with a sheepish grin. "I just really wasn't expecting someone like you to be Riku's clerk."

"Yeah, I remember," Cloud replied as he shifted a large canvas bag under his arm. "You thought I was a girl judging from the stuff you snooped through in one of my boxes."

"Sorry about that too," Sora smiled. "I just wanted to know more. Riku doesn't really tell me much about his friends, or even himself..."

Cloud's blue eyes narrowed at that, curious. "I thought he'd have told you every little detail he could about his life," he said, pensively frowning. "It's weird he's keeping you in the dark like that. I admit I don't know Riku as well as the others, though..."

"Yeah, I heard you didn't date him."

Giving Sora a tiny smirk, Cloud pointed out, "Well, neither did Tifa or Cid, and I know for a fact that Cid is really close to Riku."

He had a good point there. With a small laugh, Sora adjusted his bags and moved a little closer to Cloud as they walked. "But you're like that, right? Y'know, _that_. Why didn't you date Riku like Irvine and Leon?"

Cloud gave Sora a questioning look at the kid's referral to homosexuality as "that" but he didn't ask about it. Sora guessed Riku had been telling the truth when he'd said only Leon really knew about the pretend boyfriend business. Everyone else, besides his mother, thought he and Riku were actually dating, though sometimes it seemed Irvine was hiding information too...

"Well, I didn't really know I was gay until I started modeling," Cloud said.

Sora's eyes widened. "Really?"

"I suppose I've always been gay," Cloud admitted seriously, "but I just didn't realize that's what was wrong with me until I met my lover."

Oh, that's right. Sora remembered Cloud mentioning something about a lover...

"Isn't he the reason why you were kicked out and decided to take Riku's job offer?" Sora asked.

The blonde's pace slowed a little at Sora's words as they walked, his pretty face turning grim. "Yeeeah..." he said slowly. "I had a girlfriend when I began modeling for the company I met Riku at. That was back when I thought I was just abnormal for not being turned on by my girlfriend every two minutes like my guy friends and _their_ girls," he explained. "Even now, I'm not sure why I changed companies and decided to pose for those magazines. Maybe it was just to take a stand in my boring life..." He paused there to give Sora a short smile. "Well, whatever it was, my decision changed my life. The owner of the company seduced me, and I realized I really liked it. He moved me to model in his homoerotic magazines, Riku and I met, and I realized that I was lying to myself by trying to living with a girlfriend I didn't love."

"And what happened?" Sora asked, intrigued by the man's story. He hadn't known that a person could just suddenly wake up and realize he was gay, and had been all his life.

"My boss continued to seduce me," Cloud said with a wry smile. "We became lovers... And one day my girlfriend found out the secret life I was living. Needless to say, she was very upset. It wasn't until after she'd packed all my things that she told me she'd known I was gay since she'd first met me, but never wanted to admit it to herself. Funny how life has a way of circling back like that..."

He fell silent, his smile fading as he turned his blue gaze back ahead.

Brow knitting with concern, Sora walked a little closer to Cloud as they continued to trail behind a happily humming Seiya. He glanced up at the blonde man and asked, "Well... Are you more happy now?"

Cloud met his eyes with a thoughtful stare. "I don't know yet. I'm far away from my girlfriend _and_ lover and trying to adapt to a life totally not meant for me... But I owe Riku, and it might be good therapy for me."

"Hmm..." Sora looked away, frowning. "It seems a lot of people owe Riku for things." But his smile returned and he lifted his eyes again to Cloud's. "Well, I'm glad I could meet you, Cloud. Once you get used to living here, you'll love it. I mean, Leon's already adapting pretty well..."

Cloud suddenly scowled and glanced away, and Sora realized maybe bringing up Cloud's new roommate hadn't been the best of ideas.

"I guess you two still aren't getting along," Sora commented awkwardly.

"He's nothing like Sephiroth, but for some reason he reminds me of that bastard," Cloud growled, his fingers tightening around the bag straps he held in hands.

"Sephiroth?" Sora asked.

"My boss. The lover. The guy I can thank for screwing up my life," Cloud replied in a bitter tone.

"I thought you loved him?" Sora said, a little confused about Cloud's previous story now.

"Just because you have repeated sex with someone doesn't mean you're in love." Eyes narrowing as he fell into his memories, Cloud shook his head. "I don't really know what I feel for the man. What I do know is that he's a nuisance and it's his fault my life plunged downhill," he said. "Sure, he's a brilliant man and knows how to run his company. Sure, he has a gorgeous body and _really_ knows how to use his tongue, **but**... He toyed with me. I doubt he ever loved me or will, so why should I bother wondering if **I** love him?"

Blushing a little at the whole tongue bit, Sora gave a small laugh and decided that Sephiroth wasn't a very good subject to ask about. "Well, um... Maybe Leon's different than what you think. He's really nice to me, at least."

Cloud gave another scowl. "He's insufferable."

"But _why_?" Sora asked.

A smile pulling at his lips, Cloud turned to Sora and laughed. "I honestly don't know. Haven't you ever met someone and just... _not_ liked them?"

"Yeah," Sora said, hesitating a little before he added with a grin, "but then that person ended up being one of my only friends. When I first met Tidus, I really hated him because he was so _perfect_. But now he's one of the closest people to me! And... I overheard him saying he really _liked_ me like that, y'know? So..."

Giving Sora a curious look, Cloud said, "Well, I don't think Leon and I are going to end up like that."

Sora grinned widely. "You never know."

"Heyhey, what are you two doing all the way back there?!" Sora's mother suddenly called with playful reproach. "Don't tell me you're already flirting with other men, Sora..."

As the now petulant boy opened his mouth, ready to defend himself, Cloud's free arm slipped around his shoulders and pulled him close to his body. Sora immediately tensed up at the other man's touch, eyes widening in shock as Cloud replied to Seiya.

"Riku may have competition, Seiya. Your son is cute."

Ahead of them, she let out pleased giggle. "My, _my_, Sora... You work fast."

Relaxing a little under Cloud's arm, Sora still managed a childish pout. "I can't help it."

"Hey guys!"

Both boys turned to spot Tidus running up to them from the neighboring street. Seiya even stopped and waited, only continuing again once the boy was walking next to them, out of breath.

"I thought I wasn't going to catch up," Tidus managed to laugh through his panting, pointing a hand in the direction he had come. "I just got out of blitzball practice and saw you walking."

And the boy _did_ look like he had just come from practice, his fine blonde hair still wet and stringy, and his thin white shirt sticking to his skin, probably still damp from swimming in the large water-filled arenas blitzball was played in. At the moment the boy's face had a proud grin on it, cheeks rosy from practice, running, or because Sora was there.

Suddenly embarrassed and remembering Tidus' crush on him, Sora brushed Cloud's arm off himself and turned to face Tidus with a bright, casual smile. "Glad you could join us!" he said, happily thrusting two of his shopping bags into the other boy's arms. "You can help carry these like the rest of us pack-mules, hehe."

"No problem," Tidus assured as he easily tucked one bag under his arm and held the other in his hand as he picked up his pace to walk alongside them. "So do you guys need help today on the house?"

"Riku did say there was a lot to do," Sora commented, recalling their earlier conversation.

Beside them, Cloud spoke up, inquisitive. "So who's this?" he asked.

Sora blinked, glancing from Tidus to Cloud back to Tidus. "Didn't you two meet last night?"

Tidus seemed to notice Cloud for the first time, his blue eyes widening. "Oh! Another of Riku's friends," he said, surprised, giving Cloud a quick study. "I can tell from the clothes."

_And other things_, Sora added silently, knowing all of Riku's friends were really good-looking and it was easy to spot them. But with a small laugh, Sora nodded. "Yeah, this is Cloud. He's going to be Riku's clerk. I'm surprised you didn't meet each other yesterday..."

"I didn't stay for dinner," Tidus admitted with a smile. "I had really early practice this morning and couldn't stay past dark."

"And I stayed upstairs most of the day," Cloud added.

Oh, well... That made sense.

"Well, Cloud, this is my friend Tidus," Sora said.

_My friend Tidus_. It had a really nice ring to it, Sora decided. He could get used to this friend idea. Wondering just how his life would have been different if he had been a little more assertive and had gone out of his way to make himself some close friends, Sora almost missed the fact that Tidus and Cloud were now conversing with each other, totally not needing Sora to help them socialize with each other.

"So you're an athlete, huh? Is it a school thing, or..."

"Yeah. School's out for the summer, but coach is having us practice already for next year. I'm finally a senior, so I get to be captain!"

"So does that make you eighteen?"

"Not yet. Sora's eighteen though. It'll be a little quiet at school without him next year."

As the two blondes went deeper into their conversation, Sora decided to leave the talking all to them and settled with being a silent witness, happy that they were at least getting along unlike some of Riku's other friends (Leon and Cloud). But by the time they'd finally reached Riku's house, all four of them were in on the talking and laughing like they were all old friends, Seiya giggling beside them, Sora in the middle with both Tidus and Cloud's arms around him as they walked close to each other up the front walk.

"Well, don't you three look all friendly with each other," Riku commented with dry amusement, suddenly appearing at the front door.

Seiya grinned happily as she climbed the steps and approached Riku. "We had a great time shopping! Cloud really has great taste..." she commented as she brushed past him into the house.

A suspicious frown crossed Riku's face as he stared at the three boys. The two blondes seemed to sense Riku's strange mood and quickly let Sora go, carefully backing off.

"Hey Tidus, what do you say about helping us start the paint in the den?" Cloud asked, and before he'd taken a step towards the door, Tidus was replying:

"Sounds good!"

They hurried inside, leaving Riku alone with Sora. Riku stepped forward to block the door, his serious green eyes leveling on the younger boy.

"I was looking for you," he said pointedly.

But Sora didn't really understand why Riku was acting so upset all of a sudden. He'd only gone shopping with his mother and Cloud!

"I'm sorry..." Sora said gently, not really sure why he had to apologize. "I tried to find you before my mom kidnapped me, but you disappeared. But we're both here now."

Riku's callous nature suddenly seemed to melt under Sora's cute grin, his own face lighting with a smile as though infected by Sora's good mood. Sora closed the distance between them and softly giggled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Why were you looking for me?" he asked.

Later on when he'd had more time to reflect on the day, Sora would realize that the mysterious coldness in Riku had been _jealousy_. But as Riku's arm slipped around his waist and turned them towards the door, Sora's thoughts scattered and he let himself ease into the older boy's touch.

He even missed the tamed purr Riku replied in. "To practice, Sora. Let's go upstairs."

Even though initially Sora didn't like the idea of this whole 'touching and necking' thing, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he found himself really looking forward to practicing with Riku some more. After last night, he'd given up trying to understand his body, and from now on he was just going to concentrate on being a good pretend boyfriend.

At least, he had hoped so. They never made it upstairs. As soon as Riku closed the front door and released Sora, there came a scampering of feet and a loud squeal and a familiar bundle of energy attached itself to Sora's waist.

"Eee!!! Sora!! Good morning!!"

Flinching at Selphie's loud voice and sudden attack, Sora gave Riku an apologetic smile, who happened to be shooting a death glare at the small girl beaming up at them. Sora had a feeling they weren't going to get to their practice session just yet.

"Leon just started with the paint and needs some extra hands!" she chirped as she began to drag Sora towards the den. "This is going to be sooo fun!"

"W-Wait a sec, Selphie," Sora laughed nervously, gently prying her arms away from him. She gave him a stern pout, but he shook his head, holding up a hand to silence her. "I need to deliver these bags to the kitchen first," he said, lifting the two bags in his left hand. "Why don't you go see if Tidus will help you? I think he went upstairs with Cloud."

Her eyes lit up with promise. "Good idea!" she said and immediately bounced towards the stairs. "I'll come hunt you down if you try to get out of work though, Sooora!"

And with that, she was gone.

Riku and Sora exchanged relieved looks before Riku gave a little regretful smile. "Well, they'll probably be expecting me to do my fair share of painting," he said. "Here, I'll deliver the bags for you. Why don't you go wait for me at your house?"

Sora gave him a confused look as he handed over the shopping bags. "Why?"

"I think we'll have more privacy there," Riku said, cradling the merchandise in his arms. "I'll try to get there in a few minutes. I can make up an excuse or something..."

With a short laugh, Sora nodded, a little happy that he was going to spend some time with Riku after all. "Alright. That sounds good!"

Riku flashed him a charming grin before turning for the kitchen.

Now that Sora thought about it, his home probably _was_ a better place to practice. This house was too busy and crawling with people that it was impossible for them to be alone that long, especially now that the work was requiring more hands to help. Sora's home was much more suitable. People wouldn't think to look there for the boys right away.

Grin lighting his face, Sora spun for the front door, ready and eager to leave and get his room fixed up for Riku and his practice session—

But alas, there was another interruption.

"_Psst_, Sora!"

With a grimace, Sora turned to see Tifa surreptitiously hiding against the wall, waving and motioning desperately for him to come to her. Despite his great want to leave, he was rather curious as to why, of all people, Tifa was trying to be covert about something. Casting a glance around to make sure the coast was clear, Sora ducked into the hallway with Tifa, immediately shooting her a curious frown.

"What?"

A rather sneaky, but proud grin crossed her face. "I have something for you."

Before Sora could even ask, Tifa shoved a small stack of magazines into Sora's hands.

"I was helping Cloud unpack and stuff yesterday, and I found _these_..." she whispered in an excited voice. "I know it was awful of me to snoop around, but I thought you might like to see them."

Sora turned the stack over to look at the cover of the first one, his blue eyes widening in shock at what he saw.

"Oh my—" he cried, but Tifa slapped a hand over his mouth so that the rest of his sentence came as a long, incoherent mumble.

"Just look through them!" she insisted with a snicker, patting the boy on his head as she released him. "I mean it."

So, when she disappeared down the hallway and Sora was free to go home, Sora did as she said. Foregoing cleaning his room, he sprawled out on his bed on his tummy, tucking a pillow under his chin as he carefully, curiously peeled open the first magazine of the stack.

Okay, that page was safe. It was just a cologne ad.

Sora took a deep breath, trying to calm his suddenly stirring nerves and racing heart, telling himself over and over that it was just a magazine and there was nothing to be scared of.

But... He had seen the cover. He _knew_ what he was going to find if he continued flipping pages.

Thoughtfully puckering his lips as he stared at the cologne ad, not really _looking_ at it, he wondered what harm he could do just by looking. It wasn't like he was going to lose anything... Or that it was going to hurt...

Oh, that's it!

_I'll stop looking when I find the first one_, he decided, nodding to himself. First one of what, he didn't know, but was determined nonetheless.

So with a brave, steady hand, Sora squeezed his eyes shut and turned to the very middle of the magazine, counting to three before snapping his eyes open.

Holy **SHIT**!

All of a sudden his pillow flew off the bed in his struggle to sit up, his eyes glued to the center spread as he smoothed the magazine out on the mattress, his hands then going to clutch at his sheets, trembling with some emotion too awful—too _wonderful_ for words.

He was appalled. But... also awed. And fascinated.

Definitely fascinated.

There on the centerfold, in full, rich color and from a camera perspective so unique Sora had a hard time comprehending it, was quite possibly the dirtiest yet most beautiful thing Sora had ever seen.

Laying on a sea of plush red velvet was a fully unclothed boy, cheeks washed with an innocent blush and a lock of fine silver hair caught in the corner of his mouth even though his lips were parted in a silent, erotic plea. It was Riku. And around him were two other completely naked men, one whom Sora recognized as Cloud, and the other with gorgeous long hair as pale and green eyes as startling as Riku's. Cloud was lying half underneath Riku, their chests pressed together, Cloud's mouth skimming Riku's neck and his hand delicately cupping the boy's rosy cheek. The third man was leaning against Riku's muscular back, one large hand firmly squeezing the boy's hip as he arched over his smaller body, extremely long silver hair draped over all three men and their velvet field.

Even though it was probably posed, it was so full of color and emotion, and, well, _life_ that Sora couldn't stop staring at it. The curves of their perfect bodies flowing into each other, their bright eyes brimming with different emotions, muscles tensing and loosening and skin rubbing deliciously against one another all at the same time...

Riku's cheeks, so bright...

Sora found his own quite like that the longer he stared at the picture.

With a deafening gasp, he suddenly remembered how to breathe and, with a few blinks, he tried to clear his mind, his gaze still madly skimming over the magazine spread with so much intent he could have been reading the answers to all his problems.

There was no hiding the stirring deep inside of him, or the way his fascination was quickly becoming eager interest.

He gently turned the page, bracing himself for more, and it came.

More velvet filled his senses as he studied the three unmarked photographs on the next spread. The first was of a nude Cloud just standing there calmly, a thickly-folded velvet blanket loosely draped in front of him, one of his hands holding it delicately behind him so that it covered most of his legs, and not much else. His face was eerily calm, eyes shining with an unnamed emotion as he stared at the cameraman.

The second photo featured an unclothed Riku draped across a velvet-covered sofa on his stomach, one leg propped up and toes curled into the red material. He was barely holding himself up, his face half-turned towards the camera, a dainty hand loosely holding a pair of thin-framed spectacles in front of him, one of the teardrop tips between his full lips. He had his own thick velvet blanket scarcely draped over his bare body, showing off the firm muscles in his thighs and round ass. A very nice ass, he mentally noted, eyes studying it with a growing smile.

Sora's study session came to an abrupt halt, however, with the heavy pounding of footsteps up the stairs to his room. Without any time to even glance at the last photo, Sora looked up as Tidus burst into his room and panted, "It's starting to rain! We had to cut the painting short and now we have to move the flooring inside before it gets ruined!"

Immediately rolling off his bed and shaking himself out of the weird mood the magazine had put him in, Sora nodded quickly. "Okay! Let me just get my coat—!" he called, racing past Tidus and down the hall.

Back inside Sora's messy room, Tidus struggled to catch his breath, letting his eyes wander across the other boy's private quarters, studying all the odd accessories scattered across the floor and the posters adorning the walls. And as if fate was at hand, his eyes gravitated towards Sora's bed and the small stack of magazines covering it.

Peeking outside the door to make sure Sora wasn't coming yet, Tidus edged over to Sora's bed and carefully lifted the top magazine, flipping it over to the page Sora had been looking at.

An embarrassed blush immediately crossed his cheeks, but his eyes remained on the spread, curiously studying the three photographs. He'd never seen magazines like this before, or pictures for that matter. His imagination had never come close to _this_...

He recognized Riku and Cloud in the first two pictures and cracked a small smile, admiring their freedom to do things like this. Both were very appealing men that any sexually repressed boy like Tidus would dream about being with, but...

The _third_ picture. That was the one that made his eyes widen with wonder.

A thin velvet blanket scarcely covered the naked man as he lay a little curled up on his stomach, his knees slightly brought in and his finely-muscled arms tucked half under himself and his large hands curled around the blanket beneath an embroidered pillow of red. His long silver hair spilled out in front of him, green eyes enticing and his luscious lips parted into an inviting grin.

Tidus's eyes trailed down the long curve of the man's well-defined back to where the blanket just barely covered his hips and the lines of his thighs. This model, whoever it was...

He was the most gorgeous man Tidus had ever seen.

"I can't find my coat!" Sora cried, suddenly entering his room and interrupting Tidus's little eye-fest. "C'mon, let's go! I'll just suffer in the rain."

Guiltily pretending he wasn't snooping/staring at dirty magazines, Tidus spun around with a grin to match Sora's, accidentally bumping the bed in his hurry to face his friend. In an almost normal voice, he said, "Your mom won't be happy if you get sick, but—"

"We're in a hurry, I know," Sora laughed, heading down the hallway already. "Let's go save the flooring!"

As the two boys raced each other out the front door and into the rain, back in the room a lone magazine slipped over the edge of the bed and crumpled to the floor, the portrait of an unknown model staring seductively at the ceiling. And as much as the last boy tempted by the picture wanted to forget he'd ever seen it, the model's Siren call was already haunting him.

-o-o-

"Hey Riku..."

"Yeah?"

The silver-haired boy paused in the middle of towel-drying a plank of the flooring to regard Sora, who was dragging in a whole new wet stack of it from outside. Blue eyes met green and Sora grinned sheepishly, not sure how to phrase his question, especially because there were witnesses in the room.

"Um, well, I was just wondering... something about your modeling job..."

Riku raised an eyebrow, setting down his dry plank and picking up a new one to save. "Yeah...?" he asked again, more slowly this time.

"Why did your aunt let you do all the, er... pornography?" Sora wondered, hoping he wasn't being too nosy.

He took it as a good thing when Riku laughed. "She didn't know I was doing those kinds of magazines too," Riku explained easily. "I only showed her the normal stuff."

"Oh..." Sora commented, feeling a little relieved for some reason. That made a lot more sense now. "Thanks. Gotta go finish dragging these things in..."

The boy turned back to the door and ducked into the rain again, feeling its coolness pounding into him as he joined Tidus outside. The other boy was making the stacks of wood while Sora delivered them to the hand-dryers (i.e. Riku, Irvine, Cloud) inside. The two boys had been elected for the outside jobs because they'd already gotten wet. Leon, Tifa and Cid were upstairs making sure there were no leaks in the roof and ceiling, and Selphie and Seiya were preparing lunch.

"Hey, Sora!" Tidus called through the downpour as he handed the other boy a stack of wood. "Does Riku have an older brother?"

Eh? Where had a question like that come from?

"No!" Sora called back, flinching a little as lightening cracked through the dark sky and thunder rumbled around them. "He's an only child!! Why?!"

"Oh, well..." Tidus' voice trailed off for a moment as he fell into thought. "Well, I saw a model who looked a lot like him, but older! Since Riku modeled too, I wondered if they could have been related somehow!"

A model who looked like an older Riku...

Sora remembered the spread in the magazine of the threesome, and the silver-haired man who'd been behind Riku. Yeah, they sure did look alike. But it wasn't like Sora could just ask Riku something like that, because then Riku would know Sora had been researching him.

"I don't know!" Sora admitted, but then suddenly wondered how Tidus knew of this other model. Had the blonde boy seen the magazine on Sora's bed?

Suddenly embarrassed beyond all belief, Sora stumbled a little in the rain as he turned towards the door, not sure if he should comment on the magazines being on his bed, or what... But then, he supposed it was a good thing he was keeping up the façade that he was gay. Maybe it was good Tidus had come across them in his room.

"This is the last of the flooring!" Tidus said as he hefted the stack under his arm and stood. "Let's go!"

As the two boys raced back inside and set their bundles of flooring down, they trailed water everywhere, earning them a scowl from Seiya who was currently in the room delivering lunch plates to everyone.

"You two are going to catch colds!" she huffed, stalking towards them and quickly closing the backdoor.

Much to their surprise, she grabbed _Tidus_ and began dragging him away as she said, "Riku, please do take care of my son while I handle Tidus."

"Yes Ma'am," Riku said with a soft chuckle, setting down his damp towel and picking up two plates which Sora assumed was the lunch his mother had brought for them. Cloud and the others also had their own plates of assorted sandwiches. With a quick glance at Irvine, Riku said, "I hope you guys can handle the last two stacks. Squall will get pissy if you don't do an adequate job, you know."

"Aye, aye," Irvine sighed, giving the boy a quick thumb's up to reassure him. "We got it."

Cloud looked less enthusiastic, but Riku only gave him a smile before he took Sora's hand and pulled him into the hallway towards the stairs. Sora wanted to comment he was leaving a very noticeable trail of water all the way to Riku's room, but he figured Riku realized that and didn't care at the moment. After being pushed into Riku's room, Sora immediately began peeling off his wet clothes as Riku set down their lunches and then went into his bathroom to retrieve some towels for the boy.

Sora sucked in a long, hissing breath through his teeth as the cold, cold air hit the wet skin of his bare chest. With a shiver, the boy hesitated, holding his dripping shirt in front of him, not really sure where to place it.

"Heh, you look like a drowned puppy," Riku commented as he came back, dropping the towels onto the floor and heading towards his heavy dresser to get something for the boy to wear. "Just drop your wet clothes on the floor. I'll get them in a sec... Let's see... Do you wear boxers or briefs?"

Sora froze in the middle of pulling his soaked shorts down, remembering just who Riku was.

Argh, so what?!

Riku could stare at him if he wanted, Sora was freezing to death.

"B-Boxers," he said through his chattering teeth, dropping his wet shorts and boxers before snatching a towel and wrapping it around his waist before Riku even turned around.

"Alright," the other boy said absently as he rummaged through his dresser.

After securely tying the towel around him, Sora was retrieving the second towel to dry his hair when Riku closed his drawer and came back to him, a bundle of clothes in his arms.

"These are already really baggy on me, and you're smaller than me, so..."

Riku let it trail off, handing the clothes to Sora before picking up the soaked pile on the floor, returning to the bathroom to wring the water out of them.

"Thanks," the boy muttered softly, still shivering in the cold room as he unwrapped his towel to pull the boxers on.

Wow, they really _were_ baggy... Almost too much. The non-stretched elastic just barely hung around skinny boy's hips, and the shirt was hardly in better shape, almost as large as a tent in Sora's world of clothes. Sora probably could have stepped through the neck of the shirt and safely put it on if he'd wanted to, and when it _was_ on, it hung off one of his shoulders, baring his clavicle to the world.

But the clothes were almost frighteningly comfortable, and Sora liked that about them. That, and they smelled like Riku.

"Your clothes are hanging in the shower," Riku said as he returned, taking the boy's towels from him. "Go sit on the bed."

Sora did as told, moving a little so that Riku could pull off the comforter. The older boy swung the large blanket around Sora's shoulders, draping it over him in an incredibly sweet gesture.

"Wrap it around yourself," Riku instructed as he placed their lunch on the bed before climbing up next to Sora, settling in the middle with the other boy. "Eat and let me worry about the nest you call your hair."

With a small pout, Sora pulled the blanket closer to himself and dragged his plate near so he could eat with ease. As Riku began to run a towel gently over and over again through his hair, Sora smiled, humming softly to himself in pleasure, liking the almost massaging grip of Riku's fingers on his scalp through the towel.

"That feels nice..." Sora sighed dreamily, unable to concentrate enough to eat his lunch despite how hungry he actually was.

"Glad you like it," was Riku's soft response, rubbing at Sora's head a few more moments before tossing the wet towel aside.

After all of Riku's ministrations, Sora's hair truly did look like a nest now. Hiding an amused grin, Riku dug into his lunch as Sora moved to quickly smooth out his barely damp hair.

"Hey Riku, how many more days until your aunt returns?" Sora asked.

"Today's the fourth day, so...three?" Riku replied through a mouthful. He paused to swallow before continuing. "The next time we get to practice, I intend to focus more on your participation. If we want to be realistic, you have to do more than just sit there."

Sora smiled a little at that as he ate his lunch, reflecting on all that he'd learn so far. From their first practice with kissing, to last night... Sora thought he wasn't shaping up too badly yet. He was actually feeling eager about the next practice, whenever they had time to have it.

And after seeing that threesome spread in the magazine, with Cloud necking Riku... He thought that maybe 'touching and necking' wasn't such a bad next practice to have.

Though, as much as Sora didn't want to bring this up, he felt he had to.

"But if you're concerned about realism... then maybe a week of practice isn't enough?" Sora suggested quietly, fidgeting with his sandwich a little as he spoke. "I mean... my relationship with you... doesn't that seem awfully sudden? Maybe we should drag it out a little more. Besides, you have two years to prove that this house is worth your time to your aunt."

He felt Riku tense, but the other boy said nothing at first as he finished his sandwich up. Just when Sora thought Riku wasn't going to reply at all, he did, sounding a little upset.

"If you're thinking about backing out about being my boyfriend... it's too late. The whole island already knows about our _relationship_," Riku pointed out. "My aunt will know when she gets here this weekend."

Sora wilted a little, but not because Riku's aunt would be finding out this weekend. He was sad because Riku had assumed he was trying to come up with a way to get out of being his boyfriend, when he actually wasn't...

Suddenly feeling a little awkward, Sora asked, "Um... How are we going to break it to her that we're a couple, Riku?"

"We're going to show her," Riku replied.

Sora glanced at him, eyes wide with curiosity. "Show her?"

But Riku only smiled, picking up his and Sora's empty plates and putting them on his night table. Outside, the lightning flashed, suddenly illuminating the dark room and giving Riku a good look at the younger boy.

"Riku, what do you mean?" Sora asked, his voice filled with worry as he drew the blanket closer around himself and shivered. "I-If you're saying you want her to walk in on us or something... won't that disgust her and make her take you away? I don't think she'll just leave you alone if she sees us together like that!"

Riku paused, slowly turning his face back to Sora, expression thoughtful and serious. "I thought about that," he admitted, "but... What else can I do? She needs to understand that no matter how much she controls my life, I won't fit into the mold she's shaped for me."

"Then... why not use Leon for your plan?" Sora asked, immediately regretting the question the moment he voiced it, but quickly moving on to the next. "I mean, why _me_, the inexperienced one? Leon knows what he's doing, so why not—"

Riku's interruption was simple and quick and voiced in a firm, resolute tone.

"Because he won't work."

"Why not?" Sora asked.

"Because he won't!" Riku snapped, wincing a little when Sora shrunk away from him. In a gentler tone, he said, "Stop asking... You don't understand."

"How am I supposed to make this relationship realistic if you won't tell me?" Sora pointed out in a slightly raised voice. "Of course I don't understand! You won't let me!"

The room was suddenly plunged into darkness as the power went out, the thick storm clouds rumbling with ominous intensity outside the heavily curtained window. Sora gasped and stiffened with fear, glancing quickly around Riku's dark room with wide eyes.

"R-Riku..."

Sora flinched with surprise when he felt Riku's arm slide around him, pulling him close.

"It's alright, Sora... The power only went out."

"He... hehe..."

With a nervous laugh, Sora shuddered, closing his eyes to replace the swallowing darkness with a different kind of black. He _hated_ the dark, and he hated thunderstorms. Always had. At least with Riku here, it was more bearable. Though, he wasn't sure if he'd rather have been downstairs with the others talking over candlelight, or here with Riku, being comforted...

As Riku moved closer to pull the blanket around himself as well, Sora smiled, scooting close so that they were both huddled under the warm cloth. Well, perhaps being here alone with Riku had more benefits. Just the two of them, cuddling for warmth, their bodies so near. Sora was ready for a long nap, his sleepless night finally coming back to him.

Burrowing his face into Riku's arm, he let his smile widen, taking a moment to breathe in Riku's yummy scent. Wait. Had he just thought 'yummy scent'?

"You know, Sora," Riku said in a low, content voice. "I came back for _you_."

Shifting a little to stare up at Riku through the dark, Sora quietly asked, "Me?"

What was Riku talking about?

"I wanted you back in my life," Riku explained as he tightened his grip around the boy, who moved closer to accommodate the change. "Ever since I left," Riku said in a distant voice, "I was never really happy... I wanted to see you everyday like I used to be able to. I wanted to hear you laugh, see you smile at me..." He hesitated, glancing down at Sora to meet his gaze. "I wanted _you_."

"O-Oh..." Sora stammered, feeling his cheeks heat up at that certain confession.

But Riku didn't stop there.

"I really didn't want to leave here... after the accident," Riku said sadly. "Even though my parents were dead and I had no where to live, I didn't want to leave." Another pause, his voice taking on a little mirth. "And when you tried to stop the boat... the way you ran after it... It was like something out of those fairytales your mom used to tell us."

Sora smiled widely, remembering all those fairytales of dragons and wizards and evil demons. From the point of view of young Riku all those years ago, Sora desperately chasing after the ferry must have really looked heroic, while to everyone else he had seemed foolish.

In a pleased voice that Sora almost didn't recognize, Riku whispered, "It made me so happy."

"Riku..." Sora breathed, his eyes widening as he studied the older boy's strangely intent stare.

"I had jewel eyes and Mermaid hair, you used to say..." Riku smiled, his eyes lighting with emotion as he slowly leaned forward.

Sora, lost within the eyes of his past, those eyes he _never_ could say no to, began to lean back into Riku's advance, not really sure what was passing between them. The only thing he knew was that, for that one moment, he'd never felt happier.

_**knock knock**_

With a sudden growl, Riku pulled away from Sora just before their noses met.

"Who the fuck is it?!" he yelled, Sora wincing from the searing anger in his voice.

Whoa...

"Hey, fuck you too, you fuckin' brat!" Cid's voice screamed back from behind the door. "I was just gonna tell you I'm tryin' to get the generator back up and not to worry!"

There came a stomping of heavy shoes back down the hallway and grumbling curses as Cid left, leaving Riku and Sora alone once again in their own little world. But it was too late. The magic spell had been broken and Sora had been saved by the most unlikely of heroes from falling into Riku's alluring dark side. Or maybe it was the other way around, and Cid had been the evil witch coming in between the prince and his... er... prince.

As Sora settled back against the mattress and curled up against Riku, he realized that maybe everything _had _been just a fairytale, and still was in most ways.

Riku had come back to him after eleven years, brought along this wonderful scheme that could change his life forever, and had already promised Sora so many future adventures together.

Their relationship...

It didn't seem real.

And as Sora slipped his arms around his prince, he wondered just what kind of happily ever after awaited _them_.

-o-o-

* * *

YAY. Happy B-day 180°:3 Hopefully I've gotten more than 6 chapters done by the time your 2nd b-day rolls around. Eh..hehe... 

Review?


	7. Ch 7: Storage Closet Adventures

_Author's Notes:_

I **know** you want me to update fast. I write when I can, and I update when it's done. Simple as that. I have more than one project going on at the moment, and between those, a **busy** college schedule, and babysitting my niece almost 24/7, I find that my time is **very** limited. If you're anxious about updates, join my yahoo group for news on the progress of my chapters, or hover around my livejournal.

Anyway... A _HUGE_ thanks to Meruhesae this time! She helped me think up so many of the funny moments in this chapter! I owe a lot to her for all her help with this fanfic—it wouldn't be nearly as fun if she weren't there to conspire with. Also thanks to Dark Ki – she knows why! XD

* * *

_**  
Chapter Seven: Storage Closet Adventures**_

-o-o-

"Remind me again why we're doing this."

Nine heads turned to regard the sudden speaker, the room's darkness masking his exasperated look from almost all of them. But from his seat right across from the older man, Sora saw the expression perfectly and couldn't help sympathizing with him a little.

Cloud was probably unfamiliar with group activities such as this.

As the first heavy storm of the season continued to rumble ominously outside the large, powerless house, the ten people stuck inside squinted at each other through the thick darkness.

Tifa was the one who decided to entertain Cloud with an answer. Again. "Cid couldn't get the generator running—" she began, but Cid cut in gruffly from his corner—yes, corner—of the abstract group circle.

"The damn thing was ancient, so sue me."

Tifa ignored him and continued. "—so instead of just sitting around in the dark talking to each other, we're doing improv stories."

And they were. The idea had been Seiya's, and the ten of them had already gone through about six stories. While some of the storytellers were getting better at this group game, others just seemed dead tired. Sora didn't blame them, really. The day had been tiring, and the pattering of rain outside had an almost hypnotic rhythm, making even Sora a bit droopy-eyed. Others, however, seemed entirely unaffected.

"Yeah, and it's your turn, Cloud," Irvine jeered playfully, "so stop stalling. Here's the flashlight."

There came a dull _thunk_ of heavy plastic as he tossed the flashlight to Cloud, who switched it on before picking it up. A stretch of light highlighted his torso and brightened the room a little, allowing the rest of the group to see him better. He looked tired.

"Can I at least start a new story?" he asked with a soft sigh.

"Why?" Riku wondered. He was sitting right by Sora. It hadn't started off that way, but throughout the course of the night, since after dinner, the meter distance separating them had diminished. Sora wasn't sure who had done the moving, but now there was hardly a hand's width of distance between them.

"Because I refuse to continue where Irvine left off," Cloud said in a tight voice filled with resolve.

A slightly injured, "Heeeey—" was Irvine's response.

But as Sora gave a soft snicker at that, Riku actually took pity on Cloud. "At least give it a quick ending before you start the new one," the silver-haired boy said with a quiet chuckle that didn't go unnoticed by Irvine, who _tsk_ed in reply.

Cloud gave another sigh, although he was obviously grateful. "Fine, I'll end it," he agreed, moving the light so that it directly illuminated him. Then, taking a steady breath, he began shortly. "Sue and Stu saw the error of their ways and then—"

"Died. The end," a deep voice cut in.

"Mr. Kitty, it wasn't your turn!" Selphie objected from her spot next to Irvine, pointing a hand at a certain shaggy-haired brunet. "You didn't have the flashlight!"

"Whatever," Leon replied in monotone. His arms were crossed and he looked bored. "Go on to the next story."

"But what kind of ending was that?" Cloud demanded, though there wasn't as much bite in it as usual, considering Leon had actually helped him out in this instance.

Sora thought that was interesting. From what he'd heard from Riku, Leon and Cloud really weren't getting along, constantly bickering over the littlest of things, and the two men had hardly known each other for two days.

"A fast one," was Leon's curt answer.

Selphie gave a cute huff of indignation. "But they should have confessed their feelings for each other and then—"

"Had hot, wild sex, which is where they were _going_..."

"Irvine!" the girl gasped.

"What?"

"Stop being so dirty!"

"Hey, we're all of age," he laughed, and Sora saw his figure moving to ruffle Selphie's hair as he lifted his head to grin in Sora's direction. "Right Sora, Tidus?"

"Er... yeah," Sora managed to reply, a few sniggers following it. One sounded awfully close and Riku-like. Before the boy could elbow Riku for it, however, Cloud cleared his throat to get everyone's attention back on him.

"I'm going to start the new story now," he announced a little impatiently.

"Oh! Sorry, Cloud," Irvine said with a silly grin, tipping his cowboy hat with one hand. "Go ahead."

"Well, for lack of a better opening," the blonde muttered half to himself, lifting the flashlight to shine up at the ceiling, "...Once upon a time, there lived a young man who was very unhappy with his life. Nothing he ever did seemed to go right. And since he wasn't really outspoken, not many people were fond of him."

"Kind of depressing," Tidus commented quietly from Selphie's side.

Seiya chose that moment to reach over and take the flashlight. "My turn!" she sang, her smile a little too happy. Sora groaned inwardly, knowing she was going to take the story someplace weird. His mother paused to set the flashlight in her lap and push her long hair behind her shoulders before she continued where Cloud left off.

"This young man lived in the age when people were just beginning to understand their world, when adventurers set sail to explore new lands," she began in soft, mystical voice as she lifted her hands and gestured to her audience as though it were full of five-year-olds. "Our protagonist once aspired to become one of those adventurers—" here her tone dropped a little sadly, "—but life had dealt him a rough hand, tossing him from one bland job to another, never giving him an opportunity to fulfill his dream. He wanted adventure, treasure, unknown lands and vicious pirates... but instead he was given menial labor, poor wages, and a hole of a home."

"Go Seiya," Riku laughed, taking the flashlight from her and shining it on his own face.

Sora couldn't help noticing that, even with the exaggerated shadows on his face, Riku still looked very pretty. He was beginning to doubt it was possible for the guy to look even slightly unattractive. No wonder he had become a model.

As Sora watched him with a goofy half smile of admiration, Riku reached a hand up to run through his silver hair.

"Uh... well," the older boy said, slightly sheepish for stalling, "one day there was an accident on the boat where he worked, and he was thrown into the ocean. He hit the water already unconscious, and no one went in after him. His body sank and sank, down into the cold watery depths..."

He trailed off there, handing Sora the flashlight with a suggestive wink. The boy flashed him a grin in response, already knowing how to continue.

"But the young man didn't die," he said, and didn't have to see Riku's pleased expression to know it was there. "When he woke up, he was on a sandy shore, and there in the shallow water watching him... was a mermaid. She'd saved him and wanted to make sure he woke up."

When he finished and passed the light to Tifa, he saw the not-so-secretly amused smirk on her face as she regarded him and Riku. He didn't even grace her with a curious _What?_ and instead lowered his face and lightly blushed, scooting to close the remaining distance between him and Riku until their thighs touched.

The story felt familiar to him, reminding him of years ago when his mother used to tell him about old legends and read fantasy novels to him. It reminded him of when he had still adventured out to the play island and dragged Riku everywhere with him, and they had made crazy plans to stay together forever.

As the flashlight was passed from Tifa to Leon to Cid and then Tidus, the story changed into something more bizarre, of pirate aliens and talking sharks, but Sora didn't care or particularly notice as he just glanced around at all of his new friends. His heart was a balloon, swelling with love and happiness, and the warmth of Riku's body right next to his only made it inflate more... almost to the point it felt it would burst.

If that feeling was what he thought it was, then he wouldn't mind exploring it a little more. It did scare him, but... Riku was there, right? Everything would be fine if Riku was there.

Sora wondered what would have happened to their relationship if Riku's parents had never died in that freak boat accident, if Riku had never left the island. Would they have stayed best friends? Would Riku have become one of those popular blitzball players, leaving Sora totally behind? Would Sora have turned out differently, with more friends and a happier life?

Well, whatever the case, he was so indescribably happy with how things were turning out now.

Eleven years may have changed his perspective on life—he no longer dreamed about becoming a heroic knight and he no longer went on adventures, for instance—but he _did _have his Riku back. Their roles may have been switched, and Riku may have been a guy all along, but... It was still _his_ Riku.

Without realizing it, he leaned into Riku with a happy little grin, feeling that warm happiness fill him inside.

He watched as Selphie continued with her turn—she had been talking the last few minutes after Tidus, and it seemed that she was actually going to finish the story without letting anyone else cut in. She went on to describe how the young man sacrificed himself to the hot alien pirates to allow his love to swim away to freedom, and how the mermaid came back for him, unable to live without him. That was completely Selphie. Always the romantic, that girl.

Having zoned out while listening to her, it wasn't until Riku reached an arm around his waist that Sora realized he had been almost snuggling against the older boy, cheek burrowed into his shoulder and an arm tucked under his. With a startled blush as Riku drew him closer, Sora glanced up through the darkness to find Riku smiling down at him. A genuine smile, one without teasing, without shyness...

And at that very moment, Sora _knew_.

He was just returning the smile when Cid suddenly got to his feet and ruined the mood.

"Well, now that _that_ one's over, I'm ready to hit the sack."

Riku and Sora glanced up to find the flashlight shining in their faces like criminals under a spotlight. Everyone else was getting up too but still watching the two boys as if expecting something.

Startled, Sora blinked, eyes widening.

...was the story over?!

"Oh, right," Riku said, disguising his embarrassment with a laugh as he too got to his feet, dragging Sora up with him. "It is pretty late, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it'd be nice if you could divide us up into rooms so we can get some rest for tomorrow," Tifa said with a definite hint of amusement. "We'll have extra work tomorrow since today was such a drag, with the storm and all."

Everyone was staying the night because of the storm, so Riku had to make accommodations for the extra guests. Blankets and pillows had already been pulled out, but sleeping arrangements had yet to be made.

And so, with a tired smile, Riku sorted the ten of them. The guest bedrooms were still being worked on, but two beds were set up, so Riku sorted Tifa and Seiya to one room, and Tidus and Selphie to the other. Irvine and Cid were to take the couches in the living room where they were, and Leon and Cloud already had their bunk beds (even if they didn't enjoy the arrangement in the first place). So the only one really left was Sora.

He should have seen it coming.

"Sora can share with me," Riku said casually, ruffling Sora's spikes as the boy opened his mouth in surprise or protest.

With Riku?

But nothing came out except a small, almost inaudible, "But..." He glanced around for help from someone, anyone, but through the shadows, he saw his mother wink at him, and everyone else was preoccupied with getting ready for bed. As though sensing his discomfort, however, Riku smiled down at him again, and Sora realized he had no choice.

Even if he had still been anxious about all this, he wouldn't have been able to run. Just that smile... If that alone had the magic to completely undo his worries, and also make his heart shudder in anticipation, things could only get better, right?

He stood there numbly, thinking that thought as Riku continued with a, "That should be it, really. See everyone in the morning," and it wasn't until Riku hovered in front of his face, reaching a hand forward to push back his dark bangs, that he was shaken out of his trance. Riku offered him a small grin. "You okay?" he asked.

Sora gave a short nod, self-conscious all of a sudden as Riku's fingers folded around his. He glanced around to find that only Irvine and Cid were present, the others already gone upstairs to bed, and he let out a relieved sigh. At this point in time, with his emotions so unstable, he didn't think he could take anymore teasing about his 'relationship' with Riku.

No words were exchanged as the older boy led Sora down the now well-known hallway, up the stairs, and into his comfortable room. It was amazing how, in just a few days, this place had become almost as familiar to Sora as his own room, from the slightly-worn spines of Riku's book collection to the lump on the left side of Riku's queen-sized bed.

The soft clicking of Riku closing the door behind them rose a small warning flag inside Sora, but the boy did his best to remain casual. Though this _was_ the perfect time for Riku to call up a sudden practice session or something, just to have an excuse to touch Sora, Sora was well aware of the situation and was determined to defend himself this time. As much as Sora looked forward to their time together, he didn't like being _totally_ helpless. He knew he was supposed to be learning from all this, but he really didn't like the lack of control he had over everything.

He _did_ like the way Riku's body felt against him when they practiced, and also enjoyed all the new emotions... That was something he couldn't deny.

But he was beginning to understand Riku's game. After last night's incident, both of them were being careful. Sora was more alert now and prepared to face his friend with whatever challenge he brought up tonight. They'd gone all day without doing anything, so...

That was why, when they crawled into Riku's bed and snuggled up under the soft comforter, Sora was disappointed when Riku did what he did.

Nothing.

The lightning flickering outside the window allowed Sora to see Riku's small, happy smile, so Sora smiled back. But then Riku just _rolled_ over with a quiet, "Goodnight," back facing the other boy and a good eighteen-inch distance now between them.

Sora's heart sank, and he frowned to himself, fingers curling into the warm blanket as he gave a very quiet sigh.

...that was it?

That was all Riku was going to do? Then again, what had he been expecting..? A goodnight kiss?

_It's not like that, Sora,_ he scowled to himself. _Just go to sleep..._

Taking one last glance at Riku's still back, Sora slipped his eyes closed, listening to his friend's even breathing and the steady beating of the rain outside. With a deep breath of his own, he relaxed, hugging himself lightly just to feel Riku's borrowed clothes press against his skin. They still smelled like him.

Letting himself sink into the overwhelming comfort around him—Riku's big bed, his moon-soft comforter, his warm body, his oversized clothes—Sora released a content little hum and smiled.

Sleep found easily him that night.

-o-o-

Riku was less fortunate.

Three hours after everyone else in the house had passed out, he remained awake, lying helplessly on his back trapped under a slumbering Sora. Not soon after Sora had fallen asleep, the boy had sprawled out, trying to take up as much of the bed as he could, including Riku.

It was an effective trap.

Riku _had_ tried sleeping on his side far away from Sora, mainly because he didn't trust himself around the boy—he would have been fine just being that close to Sora, but noooo...

He hadn't known Sora was one of _those_ sleepers.

Sora's cute, reedy body so close to his own was enough to keep him awake, but this was ridiculous! With Sora's elbow jabbing into his neck, one of the boy's legs practically straddling him, and warm breath tickling his forehead, Riku knew he wasn't going to last the night. Something had to be done.

Steeling his resolve, he carefully pushed Sora away just enough to shift their positions, side-by-side, facing each other. With slightly trembling fingers, he curled his fingers into the loose shirt he'd let Sora borrow, the skin of his arms tickling as he very slowly draped his arms around the boy, gently squeezing until they met Sora's bony sides.

He was so _warm_.

God, how he wanted to do _other_ things to him, not just hold him... Especially _now_...

How easy it would be to just slip a hand or two into those baggy boxers, to _finally_ touch and do as he pleased... He could already picture Sora's cute expression as he gradually woke from his peaceful sleep, blue eyes sleepily blinking open and then suddenly widening with shock as he finally noticed Riku's firm hand kneading him below. He could already hear the startled gasp and little moans as Sora gave in to his touches, too embarrassed to be really loud even though it would be his first time experiencing such an intense pleasure.

Riku gave a frustrated groan of his own, squeezing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth as he pulled Sora's body close to his, stealing a quick feel of the boy's cute ass before releasing him again, trying to restrain himself. Shivering, he buried his face into his feather pillow, the hot flush of his cheeks feeling almost feverish against the cool, soft linens.

"Rrrgg... I can't take it anymore..." he grit out, his muffled voice sounding desperate even to himself.

Sora's quiet snore that followed did nothing to comfort him.

-o-o-

Come morning, the busy house couldn't have seen a happier Sora than Sora on that specific morning. When he settled at the dining table with a bright, "Good morning!" its two other occupants couldn't help raising their eyebrows at his excessively wide grin.

"What's the occasion?" Leon asked with a quirk of his lips as he took a sip of his steaming coffee.

"You get laid or something?" Cid added, his voice gruff through his toast.

Sora just blinked at them, grin faltering a little. "Huh?"

"Forget about it." With a slightly amused smirk, Leon lowered his mug. "Just surprised Riku's lasted this long."

"Oh yeah!" the boy exclaimed, eyes lighting with curiosity. "Have you guys seen him? He was gone when I woke up!"

The scruffy engineer chuckled at that, brushing crumbs from his lips with a thumb. "That bastard is snappy as hell today." He paused to give a loud sniff. "Caught him eatin' cereal at six this morning. Looked like he hadn't slept in days, so I thought I'd loosen him up with a joke or two. The little shit told me to fuck off!"

"Must be taking lessons from you," Leon mused.

"Fuck you."

Sora laughed, reaching for one of the slices of French toast in the middle of the table. It was still slightly warm, so he figured his mother had set the plate out not too long before he'd woken up. "Well, I'm sure he'll be back to normal soon," he said as he took a bite of the powder-sugared toast, continuing to talk as he ate. "Anyway, I slept great. Hardly noticed I was sharing a bed!"

At that, Leon's expression darkened. The spoon clicked against the porcelain a little loudly as he stirred his coffee, muttering, "At least it wasn't a bunk bed."

"Cloud still bothering you?" Sora wondered. "I think he's really nice. Everyone else likes him too."

Leon's brow furrowed. "Whatever," he muttered, stirring a little more quietly.

"Yesterday he was telling me about what happened and why he took Riku's job offer," Sora continued, undeterred. "His boss—Sephiroth?—seduced him and his girlfriend found out and kicked him out, so Cloud had no where to go."

Cid choked. "Sephiroth?" he repeated, giving a dry laugh. "That fucker doesn't know when to quit."

"Hn," Leon agreed.

"You know him?" Sora asked, eyebrows rising. "Cloud thinks Leon and Sephiroth are alike and that's why he doesn't like Leon."

With a low chuckle, Cid shook his head. "Cloud's full of shit. Both are stubborn fuckers, but beyond that, they're nothin' alike."

Leon muttered a dry, "Thanks..."

Cid continued. "And everyone knows Sephiroth. The bastard."

"How do you two know him?" Sora wondered.

"I worked for him," Leon sighed. "Different branch than Cloud, obviously. I didn't know _him_ before the other day. I recognized him from his work, but I never knew him personally. Sephiroth is well known though. Doesn't help that I was one of his favorites..."

"Shit, not you too?" Cid grunted. "Seems like he's fucked everyone."

Leon shrugged, drinking some more of his coffee.

"And you, Cid?" Sora asked, wanting to know more. "How do you know him?" He remembered what Riku had said about Cid, who hadn't been a model, but someone he'd known from school. Sora had thought Cid was only associated to Riku through the group, but it seemed that Cid had more connections than he'd originally thought.

"Just because I'm an asshole doesn't mean I can't bag a pretty boy or two," the man replied, grinning.

Sora gaped, eyes widening. "Wha—Cid, are _you_ gay?"

"Hell no, I was just messin' with ya."

"But then..." Sora trailed off, confused, feeling a little silly for being tricked. "How do you know Riku anyway? Exactly?"

Cid cleared his throat, scratching at his stubble. "Well, he was one of my students." At this, both Leon and Sora gave him surprised looks, and he grinned. "Yeah, I was the mechanical engineering teacher at Shinra Academy in Atropos. Riku's high school. Gigantic place, tons of annoying brats." He paused, snorting at the memory. "Anyway. Riku was a bright kid—I knew his name from all the awards he got and shit, but he was the only kid that had trouble staying awake in my class. He had a seat by the window too, so a lot of times I'd catch him staring outside and daydreaming."

Sora felt himself smile at that, easily imagining Riku slumped over his desk with his eyes half-closed, chin barely supported by his hand, a breeze coming through the slightly open window and stirring his silver hair as he dreamed about anything and everything other than mechanical engineering.

"I used to make him stay after school all the time to make up for his time sleeping in class," Cid laughed. Sora could tell he loved torturing the silver-haired boy. "I'd tease the hell out of him for being a pretty boy, telling him, 'Maybe this shit isn't your subject,' and, 'You should become a fuckin' model for those teen girl magazines,' you know?"

"Must have worked," Leon muttered.

"Well, I sometimes work as a guest columnist for one of Sephiroth's technical magazines. I knew his business and that he's always in search for fresh meat, so one day I said to the brat, 'Hey, you remind me of this pretty boy entrepreneur that I know—arrogant fuck of a businessman.' Would kill me if he knew I just called him a pretty boy. Anyway, I told Riku that I knew someone who knew a shitload about modeling."

"So you introduced Riku to Sephiroth, and he became another one of his pawns," Leon said, smirking over the rim of his mug. "Should have known."

"Yeah," Cid chuckled. "I don't regret it though. Seph might be a manipulating bastard, but he knows his shit."

Leon's gray eyes narrowed. "Yes, he does."

"I want to know more about you too, Leon," Sora said as he polished off his fourth piece of powdered French toast.

Cid shook his head though. "Hell no, it's time to get to work. Save talking for dinnertime. Lots of shit to get done today," he said as he got up. "The girls should be back by now with the supplies."

"Supplies?" Sora asked. "And why did the girls go get them?"

"Irvine and Cloud went with them," Leon explained. "Cid's just being a smart ass. We're doing most of the painting today, since we didn't do much yesterday."

"Need all the people we can get, so we can get it done fast," Cid said. "Then we do the flooring while the furniture is still out of the way. You woke up late, kid. Missed all the fun shit."

Sora glanced over at the clock on the wall. Holy crap, it was already eleven!

"I didn't know it was so late!" he said, forming a pout. He regarded the half gone plate of French toast. "Then whose breakfast was this? It was still warm!"

Cid shrugged, snatching another piece for himself as he moved past the table. "I was just taking a break when your mum put the plate down and told us to eat up, right before she left with the others. Most of it was probably for Squall here. He just got up too. Must have been a long night or something."

Leon glared, though there wasn't much bite behind it.

Unable to hide a snigger at that, Sora glanced over and grinned at Leon. "Maybe you should try to get along with Cloud?""

"Tell that to _him_," the brunet muttered into his blue coffee mug.

"I did," Sora admitted, a little sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head.

Leon was giving him a testy scowl when he suddenly looked up and over Sora's shoulder into the hall beyond. His lips turned downward in a curious frown. "Who's that?"

The other two followed the man's gaze, Sora's blue eyes widening with genuine surprise when he saw who was shyly peeking around the corner.

"Kairi?"

The red-haired girl froze at the sound of Sora's voice, her rosy lips parting in a startled way as she turned to glance down the hallway. "Oh—" A dainty hand rose to grasp at the seashell choker around her neck. "Sora!"

Had that been a trapped look on her face?

Wary of Leon and Cid's curious stares, Sora gave a polite smile and pushed himself past Cid into the hallway. Sharp memories of the past few days piqued his brain—being rejected by this girl, picked on by her friends, and then harassed by the blitzball team with her watching from across the street—and he hesitated, eyes narrowing at the sweet girl he'd tried to ask out. Something _was_ off if she had come to visit him, especially after all that.

If she noticed his suspicious eyeing, she didn't let it deter her. A nervous little smile quirked the corners of her mouth, and she relaxed a fraction as he approached her.

"Hey," she said easily, reaching fingers up to push her red hair back. "Um... I need to talk to you."

...was this just another act of hers, or did she really need to talk to him about something?

Sora managed to keep his smile from falling as he nodded. "Okay," he agreed, voice a little cautious as he glanced around, almost expecting Kairi's friends to lunge out at him from the hall closets or something. "Where are the other girls?"

"I told them I was going to hang out with Selphie today," she said. "She scares them, actually... so they politely declined my invitation. And, um, they don't know she works here now, otherwise they might have come anyway."

Sora frowned at that, confused. "I thought you and Selphie weren't getting along anymore?"

Shaking her head, Kairi laughed a little. "No, no. Selphie's great. It just shocked me... I mean, I came that day to see Riku but you and Selphie were already here, and I just... I dunno." She paused, glancing away. "My life is so confusing." Her smile fell, turning sad and wistful as she raised her eyes again. "Anyway... Um... I ran into Selphie and your mother on their way to the ferry early today. They were waiting for their group, they said. Anyway, they invited me to help work on the house."

"They did?" Sora asked, more than surprised.

He'd never actually encountered Kairi alone like this many times—she always had her friends with her. Truthfully, this side to Kairi was very new to him and he didn't know quite what to make of her.

"Yeah," she smiled. "They did. And I kind of wanted to talk to you _alone_..."

Her eyes pointedly drifted over his shoulder. Glancing back towards the kitchen area, Sora wasn't surprised to see Cid and Leon not-so-discreetly standing by the door, pretending not to listen in. Figures.

"Well, we can go into the den," Sora suggested, but the girl never had a chance to reply.

The sound of the front door slamming open, followed by the rustling of many shopping bags and then Selphie suddenly squealing, "Kairiiiieee!" stopped their conversation short. Kairi nearly fell over when Selphie threw herself onto her, giggling. "Glad you came!!"

"Ack, _Selphie_!" Kairi laughed, pulling the other girl off of her. "Calm down!"

"You're gonna hang out with us, right? Right? And help paint? You gotta help paint if you're gonna stay! Wee, it'll be so fun!!"

Sora let out a soft snort of laughter and immediately regretted it, for as soon as the sound was out, Selphie's large eyes focused on him and suddenly glowed with excitement.

"SORA! You're awake! OhmyGodlookatyou—are those Riku's clothes?!"

It took Sora a moment to register just what she had said, but when it did...

He. Was. **Mortified**.

He had _totally_ forgotten he'd been wearing Riku's borrowed large shirt and boxers! They were so comfortable and big that he'd woken up without realizing they weren't his own clothes, and because Leon and Cid hadn't said anything—

Oh God! And the others were in the hallway now too! The girls, Cloud and Irvine—

They'd _all_ seen him like this!

"Aw, loooook! Sora's _blushing_!"

"_Selphieeee_..." he whined, throwing a hand over his face. "Please go away! I need to talk to Kairi!"

The younger girl sniggered, finally letting go of Kairi, who had her own soft blush on her face, probably from the mention of _Riku's_ clothes on Sora.

"Okay," Selphie said, "but I'm comin' back for Kairi in a few minutes to drag her to help—so don't hog her! Nyah!"

Sora watched through his slightly parted fingers as she stuck her tongue out and promptly ran off down the hallway, toting a shopping bag. His mother paused to grin at him before she followed Selphie, calling out, "Put those extra brushes in the storage closet on your left!"

"Okaaaay!"

He didn't fail to notice how Kairi ogled Cloud and Irvine when they passed by to get to the kitchen, and how her eyes widened upon seeing Tifa's curvy figure. Sora wasted no time in pulling Kairi farther down the hall into the den for some privacy, still blushing scarlet and dreading future questions about all the good-looking people in the house. Needless to say, he was confused when Kairi _didn't_ ask and instead sighed in relief.

"I still can't believe this is all happening," she breathed, fingering her seashell choker again. Her voice was slightly awed and tinged with nervousness, and he was once again curious as to how honest she was being.

Maybe he hadn't really _known_ Kairi before?

He knew how strict her father could be—he was the mayor and really close-minded—and Sora also knew how judgmental and quick to criticize her friends could be—Sora had hung around them that much to see. Sora knew Kairi was a great actress, that she could be the perfect little daughter for her daddy one minute and then the next she could fit perfectly in with her shallow friends. She easily shifted into what she needed to be to get what she wanted, and her masks were believable to those who didn't know better.

But... He'd never seen her like _this_ before. For the first time since he could remember, Kairi actually seemed _real_.

No father breathing down her neck and expecting her to be Miss Perfect. No friends pushing her to be Miss Everything New... No cute guys around to impress and be Miss I-Can-Show-You-The-World for. Right now she was just Kairi.

"What did you want to talk about?" he wondered, wanting to get to the point of this. He was also a bit anxious because he hadn't seen Riku yet, and he wanted to make this talk with Kairi as brief as possible so he could go find his pretend boyfriend.

"Actually," she said, "I wanted to apologize... and ask something."

"Um... alright. Go ahead," Sora said as he shifted a little uneasily, a list of embarrassing things she could ask running through his mind.

She wrung her hands together and lowered them, hesitating as though contemplating how to word something. "Well... The truth is that I'm confused," she admitted. "Everything happened so fast... It seems like just a few hours ago you asked me out, and then I find out you suddenly have a boyfriend. It's a little weird, y'know?"

Weird indeed, but that's how it had happened, sort of... Sora couldn't tell her the truth, of course. The truth was weirder anyway.

He just shrugged in response. "I guess."

Her blue eyes studied him carefully, as though _really_ seeing him after all those years. "I always knew there was something different about you, Sora, and now _that_ makes sense at least. But why did you ask all of us out before suddenly going to Riku?"

"Er..." He gave an embarrassed laugh. "Actually... He asked me."

She shook her head. "I meant, did you know you were, _you know_..." There was that secret code again. Her cheeks reddened as she said it. "Or did you just give up on girls or something?" she asked.

And for the first time since this whole pretend boyfriend business, Sora realized how degrading it was to substitute "you know" for what someone really meant. Gay. Homosexual. Granted, Sora had done it many times himself, but... Were people really that scared to say that kind of thing out loud? Was it really that taboo? Were they afraid it would _insult_ the person they were speaking to?

"I mean," she continued, "how do you really know you _like_ Riku like that, and it's not actually just you admiring him, or just settling with the first person who's ever confessed to you?"

Okay, she did have a point, a good one too, but—

Why was it any of her business?

And to put it like _that_, like Sora didn't care what Riku felt... It made him kind of mad.

"Why do you care?" he wondered, fitting her with a suspicious stare.

She looked away, almost meekly. "I don't know. I just couldn't help thinking about it."

Sora shook his head, his eyebrows drawing together as he once again sifted through the events of the past few days. "I thought you hated me now?" he asked, and immediately her head snapped up and her eyes widened.

"_Hate_ you?" she repeated, almost looking offended. "Why would I hate you, Sora?"

"Well, the other day, you were watching when those blitzball players came to pick on me," he pointed out. He wasn't sure where this courage was coming from, but he was scared of this conversation's direction. "And—after they left, I saw you... and you gave me a look like... you'd _wanted_ me to get hurt or something..."

"W-What? Sora, I—That's not true!" she swore, sounding hurt. "I'd heard Bickson talking about you, and I was there when he asked Tidus if he could visit Riku... I followed them because I didn't _want_ an encounter, but Tidus took care of that..." Her fingers were clutching her seashell choker again. "I-I didn't mean to look mean or anything... They were _watching_... I didn't mean..."

As she trailed off, voiceless, and squeezed her eyes shut, Sora sighed and took a step back, studying her in a new light. "I don't _get_ you. You're like a big contradiction, Kairi. You're acting like you're innocent, yet you hang out with all of those... vultures. No one really cared about me before, not even you, and now that I'm finally breaking away from everyone's expectations, you're all trying to hurt me for it."

"Sora, you _know_ how the islanders are," she said softly, and he knew she was including herself in that bunch. "They don't like new things... things that disrupt the bubble of perfection over their lives. You and Riku are the first ones to openly admit to popping that bubble, y'know...? They don't like that you're suddenly gay... It scares them."

He pursed his lips, still studying her. "Does it scare you?"

She began to nod, but then quickly shook her head, eyes dark. "It did at first, yeah. I couldn't help acting upset the day I found out... Your mom's words scared me even more though, about how she'd rather have you with someone like Riku... than someone like me." A dry smile pulled across her painted lips. "Yeah, the girls and me haven't been very good to you, have we? And that's what I wanted to apologize for, Sora."

Fitting her with another calculating stare, he frowned. "What?"

"For putting you through all that. The sleepovers and things," she said, her smile gaining an amused tilt. "We really liked them, but... You probably hated us for all the torture we put you through. I'm sorry about that, and being so mean the other day, about Riku..."

Sora blinked, speechless for a moment. Well, he hadn't been expecting _that_. The weird thing about it was that he believed her.

"Honestly," she continued, giving him a meek smile, "the main reason I was interested in Riku so bad was that he looks so much like one of the guys my friends and I obsess over, in our magazines... You know how we can get. And to find out he actually _is_ a model... Selphie told me he was, and I looked him up to make sure. I'd seen him before, y'know, but none of us owned too many of his things, not like Sephiroth."

At this, Sora gave her a startled look. "Sephiroth?" How did she know about Sephiroth? That was Cloud's ex-lover and Riku's employer!

"The model!" she exclaimed. Her eyes practically lit up and Sora had a feeling she was going to go into one of her fangirly modes. "Riku looks a lot like him, like a younger version. Well, now Seph's more than just a model, but..."

Wait, _Sephiroth_ was the guy who looked like Riku? The one from that—that—that _magazine_ Tifa had given him?

"Kairiiiieee! Time to get changed!" Selphie suddenly came bounding around the corner and latched onto Kairi's arm, starting to drag her away. "You guys can talk later! We need to paint now, hee!"

The other girl gave a small yelp but didn't pull away, giving Sora a helpless look as Selphie kidnapped her. "Um—!"

Sora, who was still mulling over the sudden revelation of Sephiroth and, well, Sephiroth, only managed a sympathetic smile. "Have fun, Kairi."

"Oh, she will!" Selphie chirped. "We're going to put her in some paint-worthy clothes and we're gonna make her paint 'til her nails are all chipped and stuff, hehehe."

Despite Kairi's long whine, Sora laughed, relieved to be away from such a strange confrontation. He was also relieved about Kairi's confession, too. Maybe she wasn't as bad as he'd made her out to be. After all, even _Selphie_ was going to great lengths to make her fit in for the day. Sure, Selphie tried to be everyone's friend, but if she didn't particularly like a person, she wouldn't put that much effort into entertaining him or her.

Happy that he had one less enemy, Sora began to follow them, only to find Riku standing there as he rounded the corner. The silver-haired boy was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and his sharp eyes trailing Sora with a guarded look. Surprised to find him so quickly, Sora nonetheless happily smiled and approached him.

"Hey," he said, stopping in front of the other boy and rocking a little on his heels. He felt as though he should lean in and touch him or something in greeting, like a handshake, or hug, or kiss or whatever. He wasn't sure what boyfriends were supposed to do—probably not stand there awkwardly. "Um... I didn't see you this morning," he said lamely, his happiness quickly fizzling into reticence.

Uncrossing his arms, Riku nodded simply, bending a leg to slide a foot up the wall, leaning more casually against it. With weakly disguised amusement, Sora noticed what the other boy was wearing today—the outfit definitely hadn't been picked for work _or_ to fit in better on the island.

The black cargo-ish pants were a surprise, with their weird flair design at the bottom but their snugness up top, and the way they sort of seemed sewn back together sloppily with drawstring in some places along the legs. There were useless pockets all over them too, and some belt-strap things hanging in the back. They fit Riku well, though, hugging him where they needed to, and teased Sora's eyes into drawing along Riku's body.

The shirt was even more of a surprise, especially since it was a light pink... and tight. Sora would have thought it was a girl's shirt, if not for the black male symbol decal on the chest. Another thing Sora was beginning to wonder about was exactly how many pairs of shoes Riku owned because today he was wearing another new pair—and they looked like they had platform heels. What the heck? Definitely weird on an island. Maybe Riku wasn't planning on leaving the house today?

But... even wearing this, Riku looked good.

If Riku noticed Sora's intent studying, he didn't show it. "Yeah," he replied after a moment. His voice seemed almost dismissive, much to Sora's disappointment. Was Riku mad at him?

"Oh... Well, I was looking for you," Sora offered, keeping his smile strong.

That green semi-glare softened then, and Riku seemed to lighten up for Sora's benefit. "Were you?" he said, pushing away from the wall to stand before the other boy. The distance between them closed as Riku reached out and gently tugged on one of Sora's eartails with two fingers, his lips curving into a subtle smile at the slight pink that blossomed on Sora's cheeks.

"Yeah... Um... Cid said you were a little testy earlier. You okay?" Sora asked carefully.

Riku shook his head, the smile gone, and he pulled his hand away with a curl of his fingers. "Just stressed out," he replied. "There's just so much going on, and I'm not getting much rest."

Lowering his eyes, Sora uttered a soft, "Oh." But then he suddenly met Riku's gaze again, his eyes widening slightly. "I wasn't snoring last night, was I? I'm sorry if I bugged you, or kept you awa—"

Riku waved a hand to cut in. "It's not that. Don't worry about it, okay?"

A light pout formed on Sora's face, his fears not mollified, but he nodded anyway. "Okay..."

"We should see if the others can handle painting," Riku muttered, turning away down the hall.

The other boy followed, a sadness coiling within him. Wringing his hands into his borrowed shirt, he spoke meekly. "Riku, you're... not mad at me, are you?"

The silver head in front of him shook. Riku didn't even bother glancing at him. "No. Why would I be mad at you?"

"I-I dunno...it's just..." Sora hesitated in mid-step, pausing in front of the living room entry, the voices of its many occupants drifting to him like a subtle warning. "Actually," he said, and Riku paused at the declaration in his voice, actually turning to regard him this time. "I'm going to go home and change, okay?"

Sharp green eyes studied him for that moment, trailing over his borrowed nightclothes and diffident body language, and another smile slowly lit Riku's face, this time more friendly. "Alright."

Sora returned the smile and quietly left.

After scratching his neck and thoughtfully looking after the other boy, Riku turned to enter the first room sentenced to be painted today. As soon as he entered, strong fingers wrapped around his arm and jerked him aside. He glanced down after nearly tripping to find that it was Seiya impatiently dragging him into the room. A stern look on her face, the woman planted her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Well?" she said.

Making sure no one was really paying attention to them, Riku grabbed her elbow and guided her to a corner of the room. "Look, it's not easy, okay?" he whispered, meeting her rolling eyes with a frown. "You understand, don't you?"

Her arms crossed over her apron, one dainty finger tapping hastily against her sleeve. He regarded her with a raised eyebrow, almost silently questioning. Finally, she gave a soft huff. "Alright. I'll cover you this time. Just make sure something gets done this time, okay?"

With a quick nod, Riku managed a grateful grin. "God, I love you. I wish _you_ were my aunt."

She waved a hand. "Pfft. Just show me that you can do it, okay? You only have—what?—two days-ish?"

"Yeah," he said, lifting a hand to tuck a piece of hair back. "Only today and tomorrow..."

Softly patting his shoulder, she smiled. "Don't fret. Everything'll work out."

"I hope so," he muttered.

By the time Sora returned to the living room, wearing old khaki shorts, sandals, and a small green t-shirt with a centered surfboard decal, Selphie and Kairi had just arrived with Tidus. Kairi looked uncomfortable after Selphie's "un-makeover," her usually beautified face clean of make-up, her hair tied back with one of Selphie's colorful ties, and her attire consisting of ragged jeans and a simple blue spaghetti-strap shirt rather than her regular showy garb.

Tidus, on the other hand, looked very much like himself, and when Sora entered the room, they caught each other's gaze and exchanged smiles. The blonde boy seemed to glow, as if knowing Sora was going to be there painting with the rest of them was enough to make Tidus happy, Though Sora still felt awkward knowing Tidus liked him _that_ way, their growing friendship made him happy.

However, the look that passed between them did not go unnoticed by Riku, who casually slunk up behind Sora and draped an arm over his shoulders, casting Tidus a knowing smirk. Tidus glanced away just as Sora let out a small yelp, his brown head raising in surprise.

"Rikuuu—!"

"Glad you could make it."

"All I did was get changed, dummy," Sora pointed out, but he grinned, meeting Riku's own smile.

Meanwhile, Selphie was dragging Kairi to the opposite end of the room to where everyone else was setting up. Sora, watching the amusing display, was not surprised to see Leon and Cloud still dressed expensively. They seemed to be bickering with each other as well, probably over the right way to tape off the walls.

"Cid and Tifa are off restoring furniture, but you can meet the rest of my new friends! This is Mr. Leon!" Selphie chirped, pulling Kairi up to the good-looking models. Leon raised his head, shooting the girls an impassive look as Selphie continued. "His pants are very nice, and he even let me pet them!"

And speaking of Leon's pants, Sora noticed Kairi eyeing the expensive leather with a fascinated expression, her cheeks pink with what was probably embarrassment. Sora laughed lightly, finding it ironic how Kairi was getting to meet all these cute guys during the one time she was off guard and underdressed.

Selphie wasn't done though, and pointed to Cloud next, who gave the small girl a crabby look.

"This is Mr. Cloud, and he uses even more hair products than you do, Kairi!"

Sora saw Kairi almost sink with humiliation. Still, the smaller brunette dragged the other girl onward, giggling, toward the last guy at that side of the room. Irvine was already waiting for them, a slightly cocky curve on his lips. He wasn't wearing his hat today (probably didn't want to get paint on it, Sora mused silently), and he already had specks of white paint in his hair—Sora wasn't sure how.

Practically bouncing up to him, Selphie began, "And this is Mr—"

But Irvine easily interrupted, his voice a warm drawl as he reached out and caught Kairi's wrist. "Irvine Kinneas, and you are...?"

Kairi literally swooned as he planted a kiss on her hand. Immediately Selphie let out a whine, stepping between them. "Irvy! This is Kairi, the mayor's daughter."

"Pleasure to meet you, Kairi, the mayor's daughter," Irvine drawled, releasing her hand and winking.

Unable to stifle a chuckle at Kairi's increasing embarrassment and Selphie's jealousy, Sora released his laughter quietly, covering his mouth and shaking from the effort of trying not to attract attention to himself. Riku watched him with an almost fond expression, not even bothering to restrain himself when he lifted his hands to touch the boy, a hand slipping into Sora's hair from below, his fingers gently stroking the boy's scalp.

Sora's eyes quickly rose to meet Riku's, a trace of alarm in that happy blue as Riku's other hand curled at his waist.

"Riku?"

His voice, soft with dazed reticence, spurred Riku to act. Just as Seiya was beginning to separate the people in the room into painting groups, since there were two large rooms to cover today, Riku gave her a meaningful look and she smirked in response, nodding.

Sora began to look panicked when Riku started to lead him towards the hall and he noticed no one was bothering to stop them. "Keep an eye out," the older boy said quietly as they passed Seiya, and she gave a thumb's up this time, just as Sora and Riku left the room unnoticed.

Twenty seconds later, Riku was quietly shutting the storage closet door, Sora and him inside, safely hidden from everyone else in the house. The area was cramped, countless brooms and mops and various cleaning supplies pressed in around them. A chest-level cabinet sat against the back wall, probably filled with old varnish and paint, and Sora recognized the brand new bag that sat atop it—the one filled with extra paintbrushes that Selphie had brought in earlier. Dust and the acrid stench of mildew made Sora cringe, his nose wrinkling as he raised his eyes to glance around the dim interior again.

Yup, the storage closet.

...why were they in _here_?

Casually reaching out to move the new bag of brushes to a shelf next to them, Riku met Sora's confused gaze with a smile.

"Squall wanted to start painting soon, so this will be a short session," the older boy said calmly, and Sora's eyes lit with understanding.

They were going to practice! Ohh...

A touch of doubt nagged at Sora, though, and as much as he was relieved Riku wasn't mad at him, he was confused as to why they hadn't practiced any yesterday after all, and why they were doing it in here _now_ and of all places.

"Shouldn't we be out there helping them?" Sora wondered, remembering the weird secret exchange Riku'd had with his mother. Surely the others would notice they were missing. Surely someone would ask, and then go to find them, right? Everyone was supposed to be painting, after all.

"They can do without two pairs of hands for now," Riku replied easily, slowly backing Sora against the unit behind them.

The boy's legs hit the wooden structure, but Riku kept advancing, effectively pinning him against the cabinet.

"Er, but why in the storage closet...?" he asked quietly, eyes wide as Riku leaned closer.

A predatory gleam lit Riku's eyes as he moved his face forward, a crooked smile in place. "Your innocence is so astounding sometimes, Sora," he whispered.

A sudden, pleasant little tremble shook Sora's body as he noticed how warm Riku's breath was against his lips. His nerves were already awakening, tiny tingles of fire spreading throughout his body, burning more intensely wherever Riku neared. Like his neck. Riku's fingers were now idly playing at his neck.

Oh man... What was this next practice supposed to be again? Touching and necking, wasn't it?

Knowing he was trapped, Sora managed a thick swallow before Riku descended at last. He was already blushing by the time their lips met, and this time their kiss was... _different_ for Sora.

As if the last few practices were all Sora had needed to prepare himself, Riku impatiently pressed up against Sora's reedy body, pushing the boy's lips open with his tongue and eagerly claiming it once again. Sora kissed back breathlessly, his eyelashes fluttering as another nice tremble coursed through him, the warm hand on his neck gently persuading him closer so that, within a few moments, he was just as willingly playing with the kiss as Riku was.

After all, though Riku had admitted to kissing other boys, he'd kept his promise by never initiating kisses before. That meant he was new to his role, as much as Sora was to _his. _

With building confidence, Sora sloppily pushed back into Riku's mouth, only pulling away as he brushed his tongue with the other boy's, sparking exciting new tingles that made him shudder again. Riku felt the positive reaction and breathed in sharply through his nose, thrilled and surprised at Sora's participation. He took control of the kiss again, wet sounds echoing in the confined closet, encouraging the older boy to continue.

Sora suddenly gasped into the kiss, eyes rolling upward and closing in bliss as a hot hand skimmed over his sensitive stomach, kneading purposefully, teasingly, something building within Sora that he'd never felt with anyone before. He was too lost within Riku's warmth to really care, either, his hips rocking forward on their own in encouragement, silently telling Riku that the boy's body wanted more. A second hand slid up Sora's shirt then, both palms tracing upward and thumbing his perked nipples, coaxing a quiet moan out of the boy.

It wasn't until he felt Riku smirk into the kiss that Sora realized what he had just done. Eyes shooting open again, Sora pulled out of the kiss, face red to the tips of his ears in embarrassment. With Riku's hands still moving against Sora's warm skin, each thoughtful touch pushing the green shirt higher to reveal more skin, the two boys met each other's gaze.

Panting a little to keep up with his racing heart, Sora gave another soft gasp as Riku deliberately touched a nipple again, making the younger boy arch slightly into him.

"Feels nice, doesn't it?"

"Aaah...nn... y-yeaaa...aahh..."

"It's nothing compared to what's next."

-o-o-

"Where's Sora?"

The question automatically put a subtle smirk on Seiya's face as she, Tidus, and Kairi continued to work on their room alone. The three of them had taken the smaller den area to paint and were currently setting out the painting tarp. Indeed, Tidus had noticed the disappearance of Riku and Sora, but Kairi had been the one to actually inquire about their absence.

"Oh, who knows," Seiya replied absently, though it was obvious she was amused about something. "Tidus, darling, mind the edges, too. This tarp needs to cover the entire floor."

Realizing they weren't going to get answers, the two kids dropped the subject and concentrated on their job. They worked quietly for a few minutes, Kairi moving awkwardly next to Tidus without Selphie around to distract her. She kept casting him pointed looks as though she wanted to ask questions, but wasn't sure if he'd answer. Seiya, of course, acted completely innocent, humming softly as she began stirring paint and pouring it into separate trays for them to use.

After what seemed like half an hour, though, the lack of explanation finally got to Kairi and she _had_ to ask.

"Tidus, why are you here?"

He glanced up from taping the room, looking slightly confused. "What do you mean?"

"I get why Selphie and Sora are here," she said quietly, her dainty fingers playing with the bristles of her dry brush. "But why are you helping?"

Tidus shrugged, returning to taping as a smile crossed his face. "Just because, I guess. Sora and Selphie are my friends, and they need the extra help, and I'm available."

"Oh..."

"Riku's nice, too. I admit it was a little intimidating at first, getting to know everyone... They're all so different, y'know?" he continued, his blonde hair moving with him as he quickly smoothed the tape out. "But it's fun." He paused, glancing up at her again. "So why are you here today?"

She blinked, cheeks reddening as she lowered her face. She could feel Seiya watching her as well, and that only made her feel more uncomfortable. "To apologize to Sora... And because I was curious, I guess."

"How do you feel after meeting everyone?" Seiya asked, grinning as she set the paint can down and wiped the rim with her roller.

Kairi smiled, nervously scratching at her bound hair. "It was embarrassing, but fun. I was kind of hoping to run in to someone else, but the people I met were great."

"Who were you looking for?" Tidus wondered, scooting on his knees to tape up the next wall trim.

"There's so many models here, so..." she trailed off, hesitating. "Well... It was silly to even think, but I thought maybe one of my favorite models was here, since Riku looks like him, and I just thought..."

A sharp rip of tape startled Kairi into looking up. Tidus's face was red now too, his eyes fixed on his ripped line of tape but seemingly not really looking at it, as though he were in a daze.

"Something wrong?" Seiya asked, noticing Tidus's change of moods as well.

"That model—the one who looks like Riku, right...? He's older, has longer hair, right?" Tidus asked.

Kairi nodded quickly, confused, but happy someone knew who she was talking about. "Yeah, Sephiroth!" She suddenly smiled dreamily, her eyes lighting up. "I've been watching him for years! He doesn't model much anymore because he now owns this own huge magazine company that has a lot of branches and stuff," she said, her words running together as she spoke hastily, excited. "He used to be a photographer, too, but he lost his inspiration or something and just decided to join up with a few of his partners. Now it's a huge corporation or something on one of the main islands—Atropos, I think. They do everything from sports magazines," here she paused, whispering, "to _pornography_, I heard!"

Absently continuing his taping, Tidus asked in a calm voice, "And his name is Sephiroth, you said?"

Again Kairi nodded. "Yeah! He's so gorgeous! I think his company is the one who produces the magazine I saw Riku in. Some fashion magazine. How do you know about Sephiroth, Tidus?"

_Riiip!_

Tidus froze again, the ripping of tape making him flinch. "S-Sorry, hand slipped... Um. I just saw Riku and Sephiroth in a picture together... Don't really remember where," he said flippantly, trying not to draw too much attention to it.

But Kairi's eyes widened in wonder. "You don't remember what magazine that was? I'd love to see that," she breathed.

After a nervous laugh, Tidus calmly rose to his feet, waving the hand clutching the roll of blue tape. "I really don't remember. Sorry!"

Knowing Seiya was eyeing him with a knowing look, the blonde boy steeled himself and moved to the next wall to tape, trembling slightly at the close call. He couldn't afford to let anyone else know his preference in men, _especially_ someone like Kairi. He well knew his role on the island, and how everyone expected him to be perfect. Perfect in sports, perfect with manners, perfect with friends and girls and all the adults. He hated the expectations, but—

What would happen if everyone found out he was _gay_? Sora was already in a testy situation, and even though it was kind of wrong to think this way, Tidus would be in deeper shit if people found out about _him. Tidus. Mr. Perfect._

"Oh," Kairi said, obviously disappointed, but understanding. "That's okay." She was quiet for a moment as she retrieved a tray of paint from Seiya and made her way to a corner to start painting. "Actually, when I first saw Riku, I was so surprised because he looked so much like Sephiroth."

From her position in the center of the room, where she was now pushing her roller into paint, Seiya laughed. "Ohh, I see it now. _That's_ why you were so interested in Riku. Hehe, if it's any consolation, I think it's a fair reason to chase after the boy. If I was a little younger, I probably would be too..."

Tidus smiled sadly at that, finishing up his taping. "Must run in the family then," he commented. "I mean... Sora's with him now and all."

From the corner of his eye, he saw Kairi freeze.

Oh, that's right. She was the only one in the house uncomfortable about that kind of relationship. Tidus understood—after all, he'd been raised through the same filters of how homosexual relationships were _wrong_ and all that. Except, Kairi didn't share his position in actually being homosexual, so she was still iffy about it. Plus, her father was especially strict about that kind of stuff.

"Are they _really_, y'know, like_ that_...?" the girl asked slowly, cautiously.

But Seiya didn't reply. Instead, she regarded Kairi with a wide smile. "We don't have enough brushes in this room. Do you mind getting some more?"

-o-o-

So _hot..._

"Oh G-God...!!"

Riku released a low, breathy chuckle as he nuzzled his nose into Sora's jaw, one hand still loving the boy's nipple as the other hand traced into his shorts, teasing the curve of the boy's butt, urging Sora to rock into him, and he did, exerting a shuddery gasp as their hips brushed. Sora slipped to the side, Riku following him and pressing his smaller body eagerly against the shelf, gently rocking its frame against the wall, causing a few things to fall from their shelves.

Lips skimmed the line of Sora's throat, almost cherishing the warm skin before actually kissing, ever-so-softly, hot breath tickling the peach-fuzz on the younger boy's neck.

"A-Ahh...! R-Riku, w-what..."

"Shh..."

"Nngh..."

_Click_.

Light suddenly poured into the small storage closet, illuminating the two boys. Riku looked up over Sora's neck, peering through the sudden light at the person interrupting them.

Kairi stood there, eyes wide, mouth ajar and uttering small choking noises.

Riku smirked, pushing his hand up Sora's shirt even more, hiking it up really high as he continued to feel his 'boyfriend' up, Sora's own mouth working in embarrassment as he gaped back at Kairi.

A flush burned its way onto the girl's face, and she quavered, "U-u-u-ummm... S-S-Seiya a-asked me to-to g-get some p-p-paint-paintbrushes."

Without removing his hand from Sora's shirt, Riku used his other hand and easily lifted the bag of brushes to her. She took the bag with shaking fingers, her mouth still gaping. Heated expression still in place, Riku turned his face slightly, breathing into Sora's neck.

"We won't be out for a while," he warned distractedly.

She gave a curt nod, eyes still wide with disbelief, and quietly shut the door, leaving them in peace.

"R-Riku..."

Riku lazily kissed Sora's neck, smirking into the boy's skin, chuckling lightly. "She sure looked convinced, hmm?"

"That's n-not funny, Riku, she looked scared s-stiff!!"

"Hehe, oh well..." Riku tilted his mouth up, nibbling Sora's chin with a soft hum of appreciation. "Now... where were we?"

Mouth parting with a squeaky gasp, Sora curled his fingers into Riku's shoulders as the older boy's lips latched onto his neck and began their exploration of his sensitive skin.

"Ahhh—!"

-o-o-

When Kairi returned to painting with the extra brushes, she had a petrified look on her face.

"Oh, thanks, sweetie, but I already found the missing brushes," Seiya said casually, hiding the impish look on her face as the girl dropped the bag onto the floor next to the other supplies. Then, feigning sudden concern, Seiya paused in the middle of rolling paint on the wall to give a sympathetic look. "What's wrong, dear? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Tidus looked between the two women, from Kairi's embarrassed blush and trembling hands to Seiya's subtle smirk, and blinked in confusion.

"I-It's nothing," Kairi stammered, managing a shaky smile.

In the other room being painted, Selphie and Irvine were singing quite enthusiastically as they worked, despite their lack of vocal talent. Cloud was trying his best to block out the offending sounds, but the signs of a major headache were forming. Next to him somewhere, Leon was crouched, his brush running in smooth strokes against the wall, and he seemed completely unaffected by the cacophony.

Huffing to himself, Cloud tried concentrating on his own painting job. Behind him, Selphie was playing with the paint roller, dragging it across the ceiling and happily letting it drip all over her, her giggles cutting through her singing. Unlike in the den, the occupants in the larger living room had buckets of paint, and Selphie had no qualms about wasting her share as long as she was having fun doing so.

In the midst of her dancing, she strayed a little too close to Leon and bumped him, sending him onto one knee. His head quickly raised, turning to give her a sharp look, though it didn't have much bite in it.

"Oops, sorry Mr. Kitty!" she giggled, and Cloud swore he saw one of Leon's eyebrows twitch in response.

The blonde released a quiet snerk of amusement, and as subtle as it was, it immediately caught the girl's attention. A playful grin played over her lips and she set her roller down, bouncing over to Cloud. He noticed the attack too late, and within a second he was being petted with paint-covered hands.

"Ack, Selphie—!" he laughed, trying to push her away.

"Aww, is Mr. Cloud scared of a little paint? Heehee!"

He swatted her with his paintbrush, getting her across the cheek.

By now, Leon and Irvine had taken a break from painting to watch the exchange, a false disheartened look set on the cowboy's face.

"My sweet Selphie is already cheating on me?" Irvine pouted.

She took the bait. Selphie pounced him in an instant, grinning widely as she painted _his_ cheeks next. "Heeee! Is my Irvy Kinnepoo jealous?"

_Shlip!_

And now Selphie's other cheek was covered with white, Irvine's brush slipping away from her cheek as she blinked at his sudden grin.

Slowly, her impish smirk returned, and the next thing Leon and Cloud knew, they were in the middle of a paint shower, white streams shooting across the room as Irvine and Selphie flicked their wet brushes at each other, spattering everyone present.

The girl squealed as Irvine tackled her to the paint-covered tarp, brushes flying and hitting skin, hair, and clothes alike, rich laughter filling the room as they continued attacking each other.

By the time the three in the other room heard the ruckus happening and came to investigate, Leon and Cloud were hiding behind covered pieces of furniture, flinging paint right back at Irvine and Selphie, who had teamed up against the two men.

"Paint fight!" Selphie cried, and before Tidus, Seiya, or Kairi knew what had happened, a large glob of paint hit Tidus in the face, and the three of them were part of the war.

Seiya pulled Kairi with her and ducked into the room, dodging paint showers as they crouched behind a sheet-covered sofa, opposite Leon and Cloud and right next to a bucket of paint of their own.

"C'mon, let's get them!" the woman laughed, taking Kairi's brush and dipping it, winking at the young girl.

Tidus landed next to Leon and Cloud, who hadn't yet realized they were on the same side for once. Wiping at his face with his hand, Tidus raised his head to regard the other two men. Even though Leon's leather pants were covered with flecks of paint, and Cloud's hair was now speckled white, they didn't seem to care, their eyes shining with the thrill of competition.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Selphie called, followed by a loud, "Heeeey!" as Irvine presumably hit her with more paint. "Meanie!" There was a scuffle and a peel of laughter, and all of a sudden Selphie came tearing out of her hiding place, followed by Irvine, carrying an entire bucket of paint.

Seiya and Kairi jumped up, Tidus soon after, and when Leon and Cloud leapt into the fray, no one was left untouched. Someone—no one was sure who—slipped on the gathering puddle of paint on the tarp and slipped, pulling everyone down with him, and they all collapsed together, painting each other and roaring with laughter.

And, back in the storage closet, Sora and Riku were _almost_ oblivious to the paint war.

The confined space was filled with a sharp, almost affronted gasp, and blue eyes grew wide with shock.

"R-_Riku_!"

The whispering of clothes was loud even to Riku's ears as he shifted against the smaller boy, feeling the undeniable evidence that Sora was enjoying this as much as Riku was. His mouth tenderly sucked the boy's neck at a particularly sensitive spot he'd found, his hands continuing their slow torture of Sora's body, eliciting delicious little gasps and protests from those lovely, lovely lips. Fingers dancing over ribs, his other hand firmly grasping the warm skin of Sora's round butt, Riku nibbled the boy's neck with much attention.

"Nnn... R-Riku... t-that—"

The silver head pulled back, lips separating from skin with a soft, wet sound. He licked his lips, smirking as he tried to finished Sora's sentence. "Feels good?"

Did it feel good? Sora's body was screaming _Yes!! _God, it felt _great­! _It was like being tickled, but in such an oh-so-pleasing way. But of course, his mind was panicking, knowing exactly what all the heated emotions swirling inside him meant.

"I think s-so," he managed, just before he fell into a breathless groan as Riku's fingers began to trace under the hem of his shorts, stroking the warm skin of his hips.

"Good," Riku crooned, lips pulling into a pleased smirk as he moved his fingers a little more downward.

"A-Aaaahn... Riku... wait..."

Riku didn't. Smirk spreading slightly, he asked, "For what?"

"N-No really, wait..." Sora breathed, releasing a soft moan, but still enjoying the attention. "Mmm... Hehe... R-Riku, you hear that?"

"I hear your cute little noises," Riku replied, leaning up to reclaim the boy's neck.

"N-No, the screaming—"

The older boy froze. Listened.

And, indeed, there was screaming.

"What the hell...?" he sighed, pulling away from Sora.

Brow furrowing, he slipped his hands free, allowing the other boy to fix his appearance before Riku opened the door, stepping into the hall where the screaming just got louder. It wasn't just one person, either.

"What's going on?" Sora wondered, his voice a little breathless from his latest 'practice session' with Riku.

Riku turned down the hall, silently seething. "I don't know, but they're going to regret interrupting—!"

And back in the living room, the seven combatants were completely oblivious to the pissed Riku heading their way. Selphie and Irvine were more white than anything else now, having been the main focus of the other fighters in the room, but Kairi was well on her way too, since everyone was having fun corrupting the girl with their fun. Tidus, at the moment, was everyone's new target, so he would soon join the others in their painted states, but Leon and Cloud, miraculously, didn't look too bad considering the viciousness of their enemies.

Unfortunately for the two men, they were beginning to realize they had been fighting on the same side, and that, they decided, was just _wrong_.

"Nice aim," Leon commented dryly at the blonde after a failed attempt at drowning Irvine in paint, after the cowboy had tried groping him in the middle of the skirmish.

Witnesses literally _saw_ Cloud twitch at Leon's voice. The blonde head turned, paint dripping from his spiky hair, and those blue eyes narrowed dangerously. Paint-covered hands lifted his full bucket and, despite his stubborn nature, Leon felt himself suddenly regretting that comment.

A waterfall of white spilled over his head.

Riku and Sora froze in the living room entry, eyes widening at the sheer _mess _of everything—the walls, the floor, the covered furniture, and the seven occupants of the room, now nine. No one had noticed their entrance.

Leon, now drenched more than anyone else, was retaliating by grabbing his own pail filled with paint. Cloud ducked _just_ as the stream of paint flew at him, and _no one_ saw Riku standing there until it was too late.

Through suddenly dripping white bangs, Riku's green glare was _smoldering_.

"Oh... _shit_..." was Irvine's interjection.

And everyone else froze.

Wiping a hand across his wet face and flicking it with disgust, Riku hissed something that sounded like a long string of curses.

Sora, hand over his mouth and blue eyes wide with shock, managed to laugh out a single comment.

"Ohhh man, you guys are in **deep **shit!!"

-o-o-

* * *

Very different chapter, yes. But how did you like it:D 


	8. Ch 8: A HandsOn Project

_Author's Notes:_

_Happy belated birthday_, **A Complete 180°**. You're now two! And thanks to you readers so much for all the feedback!

I would have had this update out in June and on time, but my computer sorta died. DIED. I saved my writing, but my groove was thrown off, and that's why this has taken so long. It's not easy typing on someone else's computer, let alone a laptop as crappy as my mother's.

Much thanks to Vash's Girl, Lane, Meruhesae, Mistress Nashya, Dark Ki, and Chama for reading and putting up with me. XD

* * *

_**  
Chapter Eight: A Hands-on Project**_

-o-o-

"Ohhh man, you guys are in **deep **shit!!"

And they probably would have been, had Riku suddenly not burst into laughter at Sora's remark.

What? Riku laughing?

Oh yes, let's recap a moment.

Riku had pulled Sora into the storage closet for a nice, long intimate moment—"practice" as he liked to call it—and despite an interruption by Kairi, they had been getting pretty hot. Riku had been more than ready to take it a step further to something more, er, sexual (despite Sora's whining), and that was when Sora had heard the screaming, the _laughter._ Up until that point, the other patrons of the house, namely Sora's mother and friends and Riku's friends, had been painting. At least, they were supposed to have been.

What had instead ensued had been a paint war. Which Riku and Sora had walked right into the middle of.

Back to the situation at hand, Riku was _not_ feeling particularly funny being drenched in white paint... But he'd had too little sleep these past few days, he was horny as fuck from the storage closet adventures, and with the stress and emotions and hormones all teaming up against him, he didn't know how to feel anymore.

By all rights, he should have been pissed—and he _was_. But by the time Sora had made his cute little outburst, Riku was finding everything kind of tragically hilarious.

Thus, the laughter.

When he doubled over, still snickering even after a good minute, everyone was staring at him as if he'd lost his mind. Well, except Sora, who looked a bit embarrassed, like he had said something wrong, and Selphie, who was finding the whole thing entertaining.

She giggled at Irvine's side as the cowboy patted Riku on the back, hiding his own chuckles.

"Breathe, man, _breathe_."

At which point, Riku started to recover.

His hand shot out and grabbed Irvine's ear, who yelped in surprise as he was tugged down. Riku's face lifted then, streaked with white paint, his green eyes glittering with a look bordering between amused and furious. Lips drawing into a thin line, Riku took a moment to glance at everyone involved in the war, and then finally spoke, releasing Irvine's abused ear ("_Owww..._").

"I'm not mad about the _paint_," Riku hissed, "or about my expensive clothes being ruined, or about all of you making such a fucking _mess_." And he left it unsaid about what he _was_ pissed about. Most of them understood—they knew sexual frustration when they saw it—but those like Sora were left blinking and confused. "As for punishment," he continued without waiting for questions, "I can guess what happened—"

Selphie and Irvine immediately pointed at each other.

"He started it!"

"_What_? **She** started it!"

Riku narrowed his eyes, and they fell silent, sheepishly grinning.

"It doesn't matter who started what," he said. "You two clean up the room."

"Whaaaat!"

Riku continued without fault, glancing at the next three people. "And Seiya, you take Kairi and Tidus upstairs to clean themselves up—"

At which news, Kairi looked terribly relieved. She had probably been worrying about getting in trouble too, but Riku wasn't stupid, as much as he actually would enjoy punishing everyone just to vent some of his frustration. Seiya, dripping head to toe in paint, seemed definitely willing to get out of the room.

"Suuure! Come on kids, this way," she said and quickly pulled on Tidus and Kairi's arms, and then added with a loud whisper, "Best leave before he changes his mind!"

As they hurried out of the room, tracking paint behind them, Riku was already focused on the last two people. His lips curled into a slightly cruel smirk. Cloud, arms crossed and pretending to be indifferent even in all that paint, was standing at Leon's side, who met Riku's gaze with a calm stare even though he knew he was in for Riku's torture.

"—and since you two seem to be on _such_ friendly terms, you get to clean _each other _off."

This earned him twin glares from the men, and something about their synchronization, something about how similar their seething looks were, really, really made Riku feel completely vainglorious. Oh yes, there would be some suffering tonight.

Irvine's amused laughter drew him out of his short musings.

"You sure that's a punishment, Riku?"

"Shhh!" Selphie hissed through her own giggling.

Riku leveled his gaze on them and slowly raised an eyebrow. "Want extra, Irvine?"

To which Irvine wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. "Only if you're giving it, Gorgeous."

Selphie jumped in before Riku's death glare could get worse. "Well, what matters is that we were having fun, right?" But it didn't work. Taking one look at the murderous expression on Riku's face, Selphie squealed and grabbed Irvine. "Eeee! Run for it!"

And they did. Their laughter could be heard all the way down the hall as they bolted for the storage closet to get cleaning supplies.

Leon and Cloud stalked off together, not even bothering to argue with Riku in his strange state of mind, and as soon as they were gone, Riku glanced down at himself, lifting a leg and shaking it with a hissed "_Fuck!_" when he saw the disaster that were his favorite pants.

That was about the time that Sora realized he was the only one who had come out of the paint war unscathed and that Riku was in desperate need of a bathroom to get cleaned up now that the two upstairs were occupied. Not even thinking about it, he reached out and touched Riku's shoulder to get his attention.

"You know, you can borrow my shower, Riku," he said in a friendly tone.

Riku's eyes met his and both boys were silent for a long moment. The expression on Riku's face reminded Sora of what exactly they had been doing a few minutes before back in the storage closet and that Riku was probably not satisfied after being interrupted like they had. Even though it might have been common courtesy to offer his shower, Sora suddenly felt like he had just invited the devil over to his house.

But when Riku gave him a relieved smile in return, Sora relaxed and banished his previous thoughts. Maybe he was just being paranoid about things. _There's nothing to worry about, Sora, _jeez

Boy, was he in for a surprise.

-o-o-

Leon and Cloud were actually fairing well together so far.

Well, there hadn't been much interaction yet, but the lack of communication was a good thing. They didn't speak much to each other because they didn't have to—the underlying half-hatred, half-sexual attraction that lingered between them was enough to make things tense, with it nagging, nagging incessantly, like a silent, cruel promise.

Yeah, Cloud didn't deny that Leon was one of the most fucking gorgeous men he'd ever seen (to be expected, if he worked for Seph), and yeah, he didn't deny the sharp thrill he got whenever he secretly ogled the bastard, or when he caught _him_ ogling, or whatever, and he knew Leon felt the same. But it didn't matter. Both of them were too stubborn and arrogant.

That was part of the fun, really—pretending not to give a damn about their attraction. He wasn't going to admit to anyone how he felt, least of all _Leon_. The fact did remain that they couldn't stand each other. Even if they one day decided to just jump each other, nothing lingering would form between them.

Relationships between men like them, of their profession? They never lasted. That, and Sephiroth would kill them if they ever tried.

Gah, why did Cloud even care?

Leon was an asshole. Sephiroth was an asshole, too, but at least with Sephiroth, he thought he'd had something. Leon would only be good for a fuck.

...which sounded pretty good...

"What the hell is Riku playing at?" Leon suddenly muttered, drawing Cloud out of his thoughts before they could become lewd.

He raised his eyes to study the other man, catching Leon's icy gaze before they both looked away again.

Like _hell_ was he going to wash Leon's back. Riku was insane to even think such a thing.

"Who knows," Cloud said after a while, and then silently added, _But whatever it is, it's not going to work_. He didn't know what exactly Riku was up to, but he had a good idea, and he was _not _going to be toyed with like that.

Eager to get clean, though, Cloud went about undressing, and he heard Leon following suit, noting that the sound of soggy clothes was awkward and loud in their silence. He felt a little indignant when he noticed Leon was making it a point not to look at him, because _Cloud_ wasn't too ashamed of admiring the bastard's nice body. The smudges of paint on his skin actually drew Cloud's eyes more, and as discreet as he made his glances, he still knew that Leon knew he was looking. And neither cared. Funny how things worked out that way.

Leon dumped his wet shirt into the sink and started to play with his hair, grimacing at the feel of paint. He brushed past Cloud to retrieve a few towels. "You can take the shower first if you want," he muttered, his eyes catching Cloud's for a brief moment before he turned away again.

Not pinning Leon as the genuinely friendly type, Cloud took a second to watch the man suspiciously, wondering why he had made the strange offer.

Leon took his silence a different way, though. With a raised eyebrow, he glanced back at Cloud. "You don't want it?"

"No, I do," Cloud replied. His voice had a partially amused drawl to it, despite his skepticism. "I was just expecting another bottom bunk episode."

Smirking at that, Leon turned away again. "Whatever. Stop being so paranoid."

"You haven't given me much reason to be comfortable, though," Cloud pointed out.

"And you haven't given me much reason to be courteous," Leon calmly replied, twisting the sink faucet on.

What?

Cloud frowned, hesitating in the middle of undoing his pants, and thought back through the short time he had been at this house. Out of all the small, stupid little bickering sessions he'd had with Leon when they had been alone, Cloud realized that he had started most of them, not Leon. He kind of _had_ been jumping to conclusions the whole time about the man, and so far the worst that Leon had done to him was steal the bottom bunk and eye him like a nice piece of ass.

"Touché," he muttered.

He finished getting undressed and slipped into the shower, wondering how Leon was going to fair with just the sink to clean himself. Oh well, his loss. Cloud took his sweet time, thoroughly washing his hair to make sure it was paint-free, not satisfied until the water swirling down the drain was no longer milky. When he was done and feeling significantly better, he peeked his head out of the shower to find Leon.

A stack of towels had been placed nearby for Cloud, along with some simple clothes—Leon's doing?—and the blonde felt a little guilty. Eh, maybe Leon wasn't such an asshole after all.

Said man was currently stooped over the sink, glaring into his own reflection as he used a damp wash rag to rid his arms of drying paint. He had divested his ruined clothing and now wore just a loose pair of drawstring pants slung low off one hip, graciously showing the perfect curves and ridges of his perfect physique and perfect tan and fuck he looked sexy but no, no, Cloud would not stare, he would _not_ stare.

But he did stare.

He blamed the fact that Leon looked kind of ridiculous trying to clean himself that way.

"Er... Shower's free now," he offered lamely, catching the other man's attention. Leon hardly lifted his dangerous scowl to regard Cloud in the mirror, and that was the only indication he had heard Cloud at all, for he went right back to rubbing himself with the wet rag.

Well then. So much for that generosity. Cloud took back his thoughts of misunderstanding Leon all along—he was still an asshole.

Deciding to just let the guy have at it using the sink, Cloud snagged a towel and went about drying himself off, trying to hold back a laugh whenever he heard a disgruntled noise come from the other man. By the time he had actually gotten dressed, he noticed that Leon had not made much progress at all. If anything, he'd taken a few steps back by trying to wash his hair in the sink—as told by the bumping of his head on the faucet, and the very loud curse that shortly followed a grunt of pain.

"Look, come here," Cloud said at last, coming up behind him. He slipped a hand around Leon's arm and tugged him away from the sink. Ignoring the exasperated look that the man gave him, Cloud smirked a little. "You're a mess."

Leon narrowed his eyes at him as if to say, "No thanks to you."

"I know, stating the obvious, right?" Cloud laughed a little, letting Leon pull his arm free. "Lean over the basin and I'll wash your hair for you."

Giving him a skeptical look in the mirror, Leon straightened and pushed his wet hair back, dripping locks curving the line of his neck and framing his face. With a pause, he shook his head, showering the room with water, and when he was done he slowly dragged a hand through his drenched hair and returned his eyes to Cloud, expression unreadable.

"Fine."

Cloud stepped aside, and Leon moved past him, sinking to his knees at the foot of the tub. Silent and hiding an amused smile, Cloud reached out and pulled the showerhead down, using his free hand to gently push at Leon's head to make him lean over the rim of the bathtub. The tensing of Leon's shoulders told Cloud that the other man didn't like the position or being under Cloud's temporary control like this, and Cloud found that very fun.

As he turned the water on and began rinsing out Leon's hair, he smirked, slipping his fingers through the man's soft locks, working out the paint and a few tangles and not being particularly careful about it. Leon growled in warning more than once when Cloud pulled a little harshly at some stubborn knots.

"Oh hush," Cloud said finally, massaging his fingers into Leon's scalp, brushing behind his ears. "It's your fault we're in this mess anyway."

Which was a stupid accusation, and they both knew it. He didn't have to see Leon's face to know he was rolling his eyes.

"...whatever," was his muttered reply, just audible over the sound of water on porcelain. "If it makes you feel better, believing those lies."

Cloud pulled his hand away, a little affronted. "Excuse me?"

"It was your fault as much as mine," Leon said and lifted his head.

There was a subtle smirk on his face and a certain look in his eye that dissolved Cloud's anger immediately. Their gazes met and Cloud relaxed, returning the smirk.

_Doo doo doo doodoo doo doodoo doo doodoo—_

Their little moment together was suddenly interrupted by the ominous chime of a cell phone from just across the hallway.

Gathering his hair in his hands, Leon sat back and turned towards the door, looking a little confused. "Is that the Imperial March?" he asked.

But Cloud had frozen, blue eyes slightly wide as he looked out the door and listened to the personalized ring tone, knowing exactly what it meant. His fingers gripped the edge of the tub hard and he swallowed.

"Fuck..."

Leon lifted his eyes to study Cloud's slightly shocked state. "Who is it?" he asked, just as the cell phone's song cut off.

Cloud lowered his face and nervously wet his lips.

"Sephiroth."

-o-o-

_If there is one thing this dreamy treasure enjoys, it's sleeping in, no matter what his late-night activities include._ _Navy briefs and nightshirt from Ars Arcanum's line of sleepwear, style Goodnight Moon: Spring. (Photo credit: Axel Croft)_

There Riku was on the magazine page, standing a little angled away from the camera, his silver hair slightly sleep-mussed and shimmering in the afternoon light coming in through the window behind him. He wore a faint dreamy smile, green eyes bright and distant as they gazed off camera, as though his mind were far away from the studio and the photo shoot, as though he were daydreaming something very pleasant and nothing else could shatter the perfection he was picturing.

He was only wearing a dark blue spaghetti-strap shirt with cute little stars and a moon centered on the chest, which he was in the middle of pulling up as though he wanted to take it off, and a stylish pair of low-cut underwear of the same color, which left very little to the imagination.

Sora normally had something against seeing other men wear stuff like briefs or Speedos (God knows he'd seen too many of _those_ on the island's beach)—he just didn't like it. However, there was something about Riku that made it very okay to wear something so revealing it was usually disturbing.

He looked simply gorgeous.

And this gorgeous man was currently in Sora's shower, very naked.

Trying to keep the butterflies in his stomach under control, Sora sucked in a deep breath and wiggled a little, feeling his cheeks heat as he continued to study Riku's perfect figure on the magazine page. His long legs, firm thighs, and—

Here Sora's blush deepened.

—man, it was so _obvious_. Sora couldn't help staring at it! It was right there!

Swallowing thickly, Sora forced his eyes upward, studying the beautiful curves of Riku's abs, and his chest, and damn it hewasSOsexy! Staring at Riku like this, it was very hard to deny that Sora liked it. That Sora liked a guy. That Sora might even _like _a guy.

With a slightly goofy smile, Sora traced his fingers over the magazine page and felt his heart flutter. Even now it was kind of hard to believe that this was his Riku.

"Sora?"

The boy nearly jumped a foot in the air at the sound of Riku's voice. He hadn't even heard the shower stop or the door open!

Quickly slapping the magazine closed and thrusting it under his pillow, he sat up and spun around to face the bathroom, hoping his expression didn't look too guilty.

There Riku was in the doorway in nothing but a green towel, one hand making sure it kept in place, his silver hair drenched and hugging his neck. He was watching Sora expectantly.

"Clothes?" he asked hopefully.

Sora stared for a long moment, knowing he was probably gaping, and instead of focusing his attention on the obvious, he settled with watching a bead of water that rolled down the bridge of Riku's nose and dripped onto the carpet.

"Sora. Clothes?" Riku tried again.

"Oh!" Sora snapped to attention at last and gave a sheepish laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "S-Sorry..." he muttered. He immediately got up, almost tripping over himself, and went to rummage through his clothes for something suitable for Riku.

"What were you reading?"

Geh—

Had Riku seen him? Oh, of course Riku had seen him! It wasn't like Sora had been discreet about it.

"U-Uhh... just some magazine... cooking magazine... Y-Yeah. For my mom!"

"Ah..."

Riku didn't sound very convinced, but he let it drop.

Trying not to let it get him too worked up, Sora drew in a long breath and held it, trying to calm his racing heart as he started pulling out some clothes for Riku. Riku was taller than him, so Sora picked out what he could to compensate for the size difference.

"Here," he said at last. "They might be a little tight on you..."

Riku came forward to take the clothes from Sora, silently thanking him with a smile. Sora returned the gesture, knowing his smile was a bit more silly and that he was probably red in the face again. As Riku drew back, Sora caught a whiff of his own shampoo on Riku and _mmm_, it smelled really good on him, but then there was also this underlying scent, something more natural and manly and it made something inside of Sora just melt.

"Turn around," Riku said, snapping Sora out of his reverie before it could go anywhere. He was pulling off his towel, holy crap!

Sora felt his eyes go wide, and he promptly did as told, spinning around before he could see anything. Knowing that Riku was getting dressed right behind him, Sora couldn't help feeling hypersensitive. The shuffling of clothes on skin behind him was much too loud for Sora's comfort.

"They fit," Riku announced after a few seconds, sounding amused.

Daring a peek, Sora turned a little to glance over his shoulder, and gave a silent sigh of relief when he saw Riku now wearing his boxers and starting to tug on a pair of loose shorts.

"So.. uhh..." Sora faltered, trying to find something to talk about. Glancing around his room, he spotted the edge of a magazine poking out from under his pillow. Ah, of course! He could ask about that. "S-So... Leon... and Cloud. They're not really getting along, are they?"

Riku shrugged on the shirt Sora had given him—it was a little too small, but it still looked way better on Riku than it did on Sora whenever he wore it. Catching Sora's eyes, Riku stifled a laugh at the question the boy had given him. "I had expected it," he admitted, starting to towel-dry his hair.

Oh. "Well... does that mean you're trying to get them together?"

Riku lifted an eyebrow at that, giving Sora a secretive smile. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, their punishment," Sora replied, feeling kind of awkward with Riku looking at him like that. "And then the bunk bed... and making them share a room like that..."

Finishing off his hair, Riku actually did laugh this time. "I guess it's kinda obvious," he said as he handed the towel to Sora and started to smooth out his damp hair, which was currently looking like a silver bush.

"Yeah," Sora agreed as he folded up the towel and tossed it into his dirty laundry pile. _Pretty obvious. _

Riku took a moment to glance around Sora's room, his tone casual as he continued. "Well, it's not that I'm trying to get them _together_," he said—which surprised Sora, who had been expecting a matchmaking thing. "Sephiroth would kill me."

The words were out of Sora's mouth before he could stop them. "Ahh... Sephiroth..." Things were connecting now.

But Riku gave Sora a curious look. "It sounds like you know who he is," he commented.

Oops. How to explain this one? _Riku, Tifa gave me these magazines, you see, and there was this one model that looked sorta like you..._

Instead, Sora opted with a simple, "I kinda do, actually... heard the others talking." Which wasn't a lie, just not the whole truth.

Riku believed it, either way. He gave a slightly strained smile. "Yup... Sephiroth," he sighed. "Cloud may be on extended vacation, but... he still hasn't escaped Sephiroth." He paused for a moment, and then added in a slightly sullen voice, "None of us have."

Jeez, from everyone's opinions of Sephiroth, he seemed really scary.

Riku's next commentary didn't help, either. Giving Sora a long, contemplative look, he warned, "He likes your type." There he frowned, narrowing his eyes as if the thought really, really disturbed him. "Don't worry though," he assured Sora. "I won't let him get you."

To which Sora wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or very, very worried. "Uhh... thanks, I think," he managed. In an attempt to change the subject, he went back to the previous one. "So you're not playing matchmaker then?"

"Nah," Riku said, watching Sora with a smile.

"Well, it seems like they'd make a nice couple anyway."

The boy calmly settled on the edge of his bed, looking off into space. Drawing close to him, Riku eyed Sora at the strange comment.

"Since when are you an expert?" he teased.

A hint of red painted Sora's cheeks as he lifted his gaze to Riku. "Er... I was just trying to keep an open mind, I guess..."

Riku chuckled at that, pulling Sora's desk chair up next to the bed. "Don't worry about Leon and Cloud," he said as he settled backwards on the chair, folding his arms on the back of it. He rested his chin on his arms and watched Sora with an amused expression. "They'll be good for each other once they realize how alike they are. I just want both of them to loosen up a bit."

"Forcing them to spend time together will work?" Sora asked.

"You have no idea," was Riku's musing, his smile spreading with mysterious intent. "Well, ready to practice some more?"

"More?" Sora blinked in surprise at the sudden request. He hadn't been expecting Riku to suddenly bring that up. "We've been practicing all afternoon in the closet!" he pointed out.

"Oh, well..." Riku's hopeful look faded a fraction, but he smiled, slightly inclining his head, chin still resting on his arms on the back of the desk chair. "It's alright if you don't want to get a head start."

Which made Sora feel a bit guilty. Feeling an anxious flutter in his stomach, he gave Riku a weak smile. "Er, no... I guess we can." Talk about awkward, though!

He didn't fool Riku, of course.

The older boy lifted his face and waved a hand. "Well, it's no problem, Sora, really," he assured, but to Sora it seemed like he was hiding his disappointment. "We can take a break." Here he paused, lips curling into a knowing smirk. "We _did_ make a lot of progress today..."

Sora promptly looked away, feeling his cheeks heat. Yeah. Progress. Lots of it!

"But I have some plans for tomorrow," Riku continued, "and I don't want you so nervous around me..."

Plans? This perked Sora's interest, and he glanced back at the other boy.

Riku nodded, smirk spreading. "We want to make the date believable."

Wait a second! Date? What date? Which was exactly what Sora asked.

"D-Date?"

"Knock-knock!"

Seiya's voice suddenly cut into their conversation. She appeared at the doorway, peeking in and looking genuinely intrigued—she had a stack of papers in her arms. At the sound of his mother's interruption, Sora looked up, almost panicked.

"M-Mom!"

"What was this about a date?" she wondered with a growing grin as she glanced between Riku and Sora.

Oh no, she was on Riku's side, that's right!

"Just thought I'd let Sora take a break from all this work, Seiya," was Riku's innocent response.

"Oh really?" she asked, lifting her eyebrows. "Any idea where?"

Sora looked on in horror as his mother and Riku discussed this bit of appalling news right in front of him like it wasn't even a big deal at all! A DATE! And they were so calm about it!

"Not really... I was thinking we'd have to take the ferry over to the next island," Riku admitted.

"Well, Aerith's place is a cute little restaurant," Seiya said brightly. "Pretty popular for youngsters."

This sounded almost rehearsed...

"Miss Gainsborough's place?" Riku asked. "I thought about there..."

"Look into it," she suggested.

Sora continued to gape at them. Were they organizing stuff behind his back? And only _pretending_ to organize it in front of him? Why weren't they even asking for his input?

Brow furrowing, he opened his mouth to state his opinion—

But his mother promptly cut him off with a cheerful tone. "Anyway! Tidus and Kairi are all freshened up and on their way home," she announced. "I let Selphie go too, and Irvine's almost done cleaning."

Gah! Just how late _was_ it?

Glancing out the window, Sora noticed that the sun was at least still up, but the sky was gloomy from the sporadic showers they'd been having all day long. At least it hadn't poured since yesterday.

"I came to give homework," Seiya continued, moving toward them with her stack of papers. "Since Sora knows my cooking, and you know what _you_ want, Riku, you two can work together to fill out the weekly menus." And then she dumped the pile of work on the bed, beaming down at the two boys.

Sora eyed the work with a definite pout, but Riku didn't seem at all bothered by the sudden task.

"Sure thing, Seiya," the older boy said. "Anything you don't want?"

Placing her hands on her hips, she rolled her eyes upward to think, letting out a thoughtful hum. "Well... Variety is good, and I don't mind trying new stuff, but don't get carried away. And don't put the same thing every day for breakfast and such."

"No problem."

Sora was still half glaring at the homework. "Mrrrr..." And if his mother noticed his disgruntled state, she ignored it.

"Well, I'm off to help the others," she chirped and turned to leave, waving at them. "Have fun, boys!"

Why did that sound like she was sealing Sora's fate?

-o-o-

"No way, my mom hates grits..."

"She does?"

"Yeah."

"Me too..."

"Trash it," Sora sighed, flipping to the next recipe.

It felt like they'd been at this damn menu thing for hours and they'd hardly gotten any progress. Judging from the pile of rejected recipes, the boys were probably being too finicky than they were supposed to be, but, well, Seiya _had_ left them in charge. She couldn't complain if the menu turned out a little less-than-satisfactory and if they rejected half the 'new and interesting' recipes she had given them.

"How about this? Tilapia in red wine onion sauce."

"Isn't tilapia a kind of fish?"

"Yeah."

Riku shrugged. "Sounds good."

As Sora slipped the paper onto the stack of accepted foods, which wasn't many, he glanced at Riku, who didn't really seem to be into the homework anymore. It was like the other boy's mind kept drifting off and Sora kept having to keep him on task. Both of them were settled on the floor in front of Sora's bed, and Sora was leafing through the recipes as Riku sketched out his monthly menu or whatever.

"We get all kinds of fish down at the market," Sora said, attempting a loose conversation. "I used to help out there, a volunteer kind of thing."

Riku lifted his eyes to study Sora for a moment before he went back to his menu. "I didn't know that you did that kind of stuff. From what you've been telling me, I had the impression you were pretty anti-social."

"Mm," was Sora's off-hand response. He thought back to his past few years. "Not really anti-social... Just not _social_, y'know? Well... I guess I never considered Tidus and Selphie my friends because they never came to me with any problems, or... I never felt the need to go to them with my own." He sighed, picking up a new recipe. "We hung out sometimes, but nothing really consistent. My mom was the one who always made the attempt to make friends."

Lowering the menu, Riku watched Sora as the boy spoke, his voice dropping into a slightly wistful tone. Sora's eyes were lowered, seemingly studying the new recipe in his hands, but Riku could tell Sora's mind was elsewhere, hardly caring about their work right now.

"I think I know why I never had friends here," Sora continued softly, his fingers tightening around the paper. "I never really knew enough to care about it before, but... Ever since my mom told me about what happened with her and my dad, it made sense."

Riku listened patiently, green eyes sympathetic.

Wetting his lips, Sora went on. "My mom got pregnant when she was still in school, and with a guy who was already dating someone, right?" He paused, closing his eyes and sighing. "So she came to the island and let my dad marry that other girl, and my mom and me have been here ever since. The other women probably don't like my mom because of that. She's not the typical house wife."

Yeah... From what Riku had gathered, the people on the island really didn't like things that deviated from the norm, and Seiya certainly was different. As stupid and prejudiced as it was, people no doubt looked down upon Sora's tiny family. And now that Sora was supposedly gay, Riku was definitely expecting a lot of opposition from the islanders. And judging from Sora's worries, he too had been thinking about it.

Something about Sora's solemn expression touched Riku in a way that was kind of unpleasant. The more Riku learned about Sora's relationship with the island, the more he disliked the people, and the more he wanted to just pull Sora into his arms and let him spill everything he's ever wanted to confess to people, and had never had a chance to.

"It's probably why she's never been able to get a real job here," the boy continued. "Why we're poor. And why the other kids never really accepted me..."

When Sora trailed off, a long silence stretched between them, thick with unsaid words and a sense of unfulfilled expectations that really filled Riku with pity, and a sense of relief that he had come on this crazy, almost impossible adventure to see Sora again, to make his dreams reality.

He was so happy to be here with Sora again, and so, _so_ glad that Sora had allowed him the chance to get this close. Riku had the resources to make both of their dreams come true, but... the problem was Riku's aunt... And Sora's rickety courage.

"Anyway," Sora sighed, setting aside another recipe. "I do want to go to college, but at the rate I'm going, I doubt it'll happen." He hesitated, face forming a scowl. "I'll probably end up selling fish for the rest of my life. Sucks..."

_If only you knew... _A fond little smile tugged at Riku's lips as he continued to watch the boy. "Sora..."

He glanced up, blinking at Riku, and then faltered at Riku's expression. "Er... sorry..." He rubbed the back of his head, looking embarrassed. "I kind of rambled on," he muttered.

That was when Riku leaned in and kissed him.

"Mmf!"

Sora's eyes went wide at the unexpected move, but he didn't pull away, too surprised and embarrassed to deny Riku's advance. His heart did give a happy little flutter in his chest as Riku set aside his menu and started to shift closer, one of his hands resting on Sora's thigh—it was a gentle weight, but warm, and something about it made something inside of Sora twist in anticipation as Riku drew nearer, their lips still connected. Riku really wanted this right now.

And even though Sora wasn't sure what had sparked the sudden 'practice session,' Riku's tenderness effortlessly pushed away all of his worries, leaving him full of this warm and fuzzy feeling, whatever it was. He liked it.

Sora started to kiss back, vaguely wondering what this all meant and what Riku was planning to do this time. They had already covered the basics, so what came after what they had already done together?

Trying not to let it bother him, he let himself relax, focusing instead on returning Riku's favor, trying to make him feel as good as he made Sora feel. So what if this was just pretend? That didn't mean they couldn't enjoy it while it lasted.

They shared a few soft, initial kisses, each one a little bolder than the last, and it didn't even occur to Sora that he could have stopped this if he had wanted. Maybe he was already past that stage, anyway. He didn't really care anymore. It felt too good.

Riku's hand drew up, brushing across Sora's cheek, cupping it as he pushed deeper into Sora's mouth, more than willing to move faster since Sora wasn't resisting. The boy gave a soft, cute sigh as Riku easily parted his lips and brushed their tongues together. The gentle touch, and the tiny tremors that shook Sora's body, sent Riku's mind reeling. Sora's shy reactions were the perfect encouragement and everything Riku needed to know.

Pulling slightly away, he brushed their lips together, loving the heat of Sora's gasp against his damp skin, the softness of his touch as Sora leaned in for a hesitant kiss of his own. Riku felt his breath hitch, but Sora continued onward, taking Riku's bottom lip between both of his own, giving it a tentative lick.

It was so cautious, so sweet and new, it made Riku's heart swell with love. Something unbearably soft settled inside of him, and he curled his fingers around one of Sora's eartails, tugging his face closer to initiate a more heated kiss.

"Mnn..."

At Sora's tiny, incoherent sound of gratification, Riku delved into the boy's warm mouth, Sora's tongue willingly sliding against him, eliciting exquisite little thrills inside of him that threatened to drive this situation out of control. The quiet gasps that came from Sora did nothing to help, either.

Riku's hand slid down as he shifted even closer to Sora, the tips of his fingers touching Sora's hip and making him shiver, but he didn't pull away. Knowing he was crossing dangerous ground, Riku continued to distract Sora with the kiss, an almost hungry duel of lips and tongue that Sora didn't seem to mind at all. Encouraged, Riku moved his hand inward, fingering the button to Sora's shorts, starting to pull it free.

But despite Riku's efforts, Sora still felt it. He broke the kiss with a sharp gasp, his hands suddenly pushing against Riku's chest to deter him.

"R-Riku—" His voice was heavy and trembling with an emotion that Riku definitely recognized. "S-Stop—"

Despite the protest, Riku knew Sora wanted it.

Riku's fingers slipped the button free and started on the zipper, and this made Sora a little more panicked. With an embarrassed squeak, the boy started to turn away, trying to crawl to the safety of his bed.

Riku followed him, curling an arm around his waist and pulling Sora's body back. He felt Sora tense against him, but Riku didn't back down, not now, not when he had _evidence_ of Sora's pleasure right under his hand.

"R-Riku!"

With Sora's protests echoing inside of him, and Sora's reedy body wiggling against him, trying to make it to the bed, Riku felt himself smile. Just as Sora grabbed hold of his covers and pulled the upper half of his body onto the bed, Riku firmly held onto him and pulled the zipper of his shorts down.

"Riku, p-please—!"

Riku moved closer on his knees, pressing right up against Sora's back, leaving barely room for the boy to fight back. He could feel Sora's scared breathing, and the trembling of his body, and the heat of his arousal just below his hand.

Wetting his lips, Riku closed his eyes and slipped his hand into Sora's boxers.

Every muscle in Sora's body tensed and he gave a startled cry—"R-_Riku_!"—and then shuddered and hid his face, muffling a gasp as Riku's fingers wrapped around him.

Riku watched as Sora's fingers clenched into the bed sheets as he began to move his hand against Sora. He saw every twitch of Sora's brows and parting of his lips and every shade of red on his cheeks, heard every whimper and sigh and soft moan, and felt every shiver of pleasure in his small body as he squeezed and worked Sora's warm length, wanting to witness the boy in his most vulnerable state, unable to stop himself even with Sora's weak, empty protests.

"Nnngh... R-Riku...uuu..."

He pressed his face against Sora's back, quickening his pace and pulling Sora tight against him, knowing Sora could feel his own erection.

"Shhh..." he hushed, nuzzling Sora's shoulder blade.

"Ri... aah"

Biting his lip, Riku continued the reckless hand-job, reveling in the way Sora squirmed against him the more rough he got. How many times had he imagined this happening? How many times had he lain curled up in bed and dreamt of touching Sora this way? Hearing these exact noises of pleasure? Seeing him so hot and worked up and unable to contain it?

"R-Ri—Ahnn..."

Riku swallowed, feeling his eyes sting, an overwhelming happiness rising within him. He felt the words burning within him—phrases of want, need, love, desire and unbreakable vows—but he clamped his mouth closed and squeezed his eyes shut, knowing that those confessions would scare Sora away. So he settled with loving him this way, passionately, a little violent as he jerked Sora to climax, finding his inexperienced thrusts so terribly cute.

Just as Riku felt Sora reach that pinnacle of pleasure, Sora buried his face into the mattress, his fingers twisting desperately into the sheets as he gave a muffled scream and spilled into Riku's hand.

And it was over.

A dreadful silence filled the room as Sora heaved gasps into the mattress, his abdomen giving an occasional spasm under Riku's arm, which was still holding him in place and half on Riku's lap. The foreign hand was still wrapped around him, waiting for him to come down from his orgasm.

A wonderful and terrifying kind of euphoria swirled inside of Sora, his heart thundering inside of him still, but...

Holy _shit_...

Sora kept his face buried, knowing his blush wasn't going to go away any time soon.

Why had Riku done that?

Never mind, that was a stupid thing to wonder.

Oh God...

That had been his first real experience with sex. First time that hadn't been self-induced. And it had been with a guy!

And fuck, it had been GOOD.

Fuck... Fuckfuckfuckfuck.

Riku slowly, carefully pulled his hand free, and Sora felt himself tense. He already kind of missed the touch, but he said nothing of the sort, his mind still reeling. He just stayed half slumped over the side of the bed, trembling and happy and in denial.

"Was that okay?"

Riku's tone was cautious, almost meek, as if he were afraid of Sora suddenly bolting out of the room.

Not sure if he could even talk, Sora swallowed a few times to find his voice, and when it came, it was quavering and thick, muffled from the mattress. "Embarrassing..." was all he managed.

Riku couldn't help the fond smile that pulled across his lips. "But it was okay?" When Sora said nothing this time, Riku leaned in and nuzzled the back of Sora's head, wanting to say a hundred things at once. He chose something reassuring, something that wouldn't overwhelm Sora even more. "I know how you feel. It's always embarrassing... But it feels good, right?"

Sora remained silent, trembling, his face buried in his sheets, but then slowly nodded.

Mindful of Sora's state, Riku carefully pulled away from him and rose to his feet, retrieving his wet towel from Sora's dirty clothes. He wiped his hand and dropped the towel back into the laundry pile, all the while searching for the final right thing to say.

They both knew that they had just shared something that would forever change their friendship.

Drawing in a deep breath, Riku steeled himself.

_Well, here goes nothing... or everything._

"I know you know I have more than just friendly feelings for you," he said in a slightly quavering voice. "Even if we're only pretending to have a relationship, you can stop me, you know..."

Up until then, Sora hadn't moved, but now he lifted his head, not daring to meet Riku's gaze. "Riku, I..."

"I'll let you think if over," Riku said quietly.

That was when Sora finally turned, blue eyes wide, his expression partially hesitant, partially eager to say something, but completely frightened. His eyes met Riku's, but he didn't say anything.

He didn't have to. Sora needed more time.

"Riku?"

The sound of Squall's voice surprised Riku as the man suddenly appeared in Sora's doorway. For a moment he was confused, but a look out Sora's window revealed that it was probably kind of late now. No doubt Seiya had told Squall where to find the boys.

"Yeah, I'm coming," he told the older man, pausing to give Sora a small smile. "Think about it. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Sora, who was currently curled up so Squall couldn't see the state of his shorts, gave a curt nod and blushed further, lowering his face. Riku turned to leave, letting his gaze linger on Sora's trembling form, but then he was gone without another word, leaving the boy behind with his confused emotions.

Squall walked beside Riku in silence as they crossed the street, and for the first time since he had started this crazy game, Riku didn't want to share today's results with his friend. Somehow, this time, he felt it necessary to keep Sora's experiences a secret, something for him alone to know. He was thankful that Squall didn't bother asking what had been wrong with Sora back in the room.

"Anything new?" Riku wondered as they passed through the front door. "Since I've been gone, I mean."

Surprisingly, Squall did have a bit of shocking news. "Yeah," he said, and Riku couldn't tell if that was amusement or warning in his voice. "Sephiroth has been stalking Cloud's cell since this afternoon."

Riku gave Squall a puzzled look as he hesitated at the foot of the stairs. "I'm surprised he hadn't started earlier."

"Cloud said that Sephiroth didn't have this new number," Squall explained.

"Oh..."

Which meant someone (Yuffie maybe?) had squealed and given Sephiroth Cloud's new number, which also meant one of two things. Either Sephiroth was calling to find out where Cloud was, or Sephiroth knew exactly where he was and wanted him to go back to Atropos. Both spelled bad news for Riku. It was just a matter of time before Sephiroth found out who exactly Cloud was staying with and where some of his favorite models went off to.

"Great," he sighed, starting to climb the stairs.

"Yeah," Squall agreed as he followed.

"So how'd it go with you and Cloud?" Riku asked, throwing a cruel little smile over his shoulder.

To which Squall scowled. "It's not going to work, Riku."

"Whatever do you mean, Squall?"

"You know exactly what I mean," Squall muttered.

Riku laughed and crossed the hall to his room, shaking his head.

Unfortunately, Squall took this opportunity to strike back. "So what about Sora?" he asked, leaning in Riku's doorway as the boy sank onto his bed.

Raking a hand through his hair, Riku grimaced at the question, still feeling the effects of Sora's body against his, and his cute little groans, and _fuck_ that kid was so molestable.

"Yeah... Sora..." Riku sighed, feeling himself smile, recognizing the happy little flutter inside of him. He wouldn't be forgetting the details of today's events, oh hell no. First the storage closet expedition, and then that hand-job in Sora's bedroom. Ahh, bliss.

"Sounds like it went well," Squall mused. There was something about his tone that made Riku suspicious.

"A little _too_ well," Riku added, glancing down at his lap and feeling awkward about asking Squall to do this. "I think I need help..."

"Probably," Squall agreed.

But that was it.

There was no offer, no move forward to help Riku with his problem, nothing. Riku lifted his gaze, a sense of dread settling inside of him when he saw Squall still leaning in his doorway, looking smug.

"Squall?"

Regarding him with an impassive look, Squall just said, "I'm not helping you with your sexual needs anymore."

Oh no. Oh _fuck_ no! Squall couldn't do that to him! Not tonight of all nights!

Riku gaped up at him, furious. "_WHAT!_"

And Squall merely shrugged. "You have a hand, Riku."

What. The. HELL?

Squall had never refused him before! Why now?!

"Squuaaall!" he whined and couldn't believe he was actually whining and to _Squall_ of all people.

"Just get some rest, Riku."

"I could fire you, you know!"

"Yeah," Squall agreed, and calmly backed out of the doorway, reaching for the knob. As he started to close the door, an evil little smirk crossed his lips. "But you won't."

Riku sat there, mouth hanging open, completely _appalled_.

Something about Squall's actions impressed him, but at the moment he was too fucking pissed to care. Feeling this overwhelming sense of helplessness and pure _fury_ at the world, he snatched up his pillow—

"RRRRGHH!!!! FUCK ALL OF YOU!!!"

—and chunked the damned thing at the door. It hit with a soft _fwumph!_ and then fell to the floor. He glared at it a long moment, trembling, feeling tears sting at his eyes.

Then, silent and very, very sexually frustrated, Riku curled up on his bed alone.

-o-o-

* * *

As you can see... here comes the fun stuff. :D 

I nabbed inspiration from the wonderful manga _Rin_ by Yukine Honami, so credit to her for the hands-on project.


	9. Ch 9: Maybe I'm Rikusexual

_Author's Notes:_

Happy New Year:D Hope you enjoy.

* * *

_**  
Chapter Nine: Maybe I'm Rikusexual**_

-o-o-

That morning, no matter what Sora tried, his thoughts kept circling back to Riku.

He woke to the sun glaring into his face, and he rolled over with a groan, hearing a crinkle directly under his head. Confusion whirling through his groggy state of mind, he stuffed a hand under his pillow, fingers tracing along the laminated cover of a magazine. The magazine of sexy Riku in his sexy nightshirt and sexy briefs.

Oh yeah... he'd put that there yesterday to hide it.

...geh! Yesterday!

Sora immediately buried his face, feeling his cheeks flame as he remembered everything that had happened the day before. Especially how nice Riku's hand had felt on him. And how, no matter how hard he denied it, he wanted to feel it again.

Everything was a reminder.

As he began to crawl out of bed, his shorts tried to stay behind, slipping down his hips as he moved. It was then that he realized they were still unbuttoned from when Riku had opened them.

_Stop right there, Sora._

Closing his eyes, he drew in a long breath and cleared his mind, trying to rid it of Riku thoughts once and for all. Then, slipping his eyes back open, his gaze landed on his laundry pile. A used white towel was draped half out of the basket. The same white towel Riku had used yesterday to dry off. The same white towel Riku had used yesterday to clean his hands after—

_STOP! _

A desperate feeling rose inside of him, and he lowered his gaze, looking at the foot of his bed where he wouldn't find anything to remind him of Riku.

But there, thin and almost invisible against the pale sheets hanging over the side of the mattress, was a single silver hair, and Sora's eyes drew straight to it. Riku's hair.

_...I can't win, can I?_

Obviously, ignoring Riku wasn't going to work today, so in an attempt to be brave about this, Sora decided just to get the day over with. Postponing his shower, he pulled off his clothes and quickly found some clean stuff, tugging on his shorts and nearly tripping over himself on his way to the door, only pausing to toe on his sandals before leaving the room.

The sun was peeking through the clouds today, but it still looked like it was going to rain. Sora wondered if Riku had been serious about taking him on a practice date. A part of him really hoped it poured today so he didn't have to deal with the humiliation that was likely to ensue if he went out in public with Riku on a _date_. It was probably going to upset a lot of people. Not sure whether to feel apprehensive or moderately excited about all this, Sora braced himself for both as he pulled open the door to Riku's house.

The smell of bacon and eggs immediately greeted him, making his stomach churn with hunger. He'd gone to bed straight after Riku had left and had missed dinner entirely. He was surprised he had slept as long as he had. It must have been almost eight now, so that was almost twelve hours of rest. Geh, and it felt like he needed twelve more.

Letting the front door click shut behind him, he trudged to the kitchen, lifting a hand in greeting as he saw Leon coming in his direction.

"Hey," he managed with a bit of cheer, smiling at the older man as they passed.

Leon's gray eyes flicked over him, and an eyebrow slowly rose... right before Leon's lips curled into a faintly amused smirk. "Hey," he said back, heading up the stairs.

Sora blinked after him, wondering what the smirk had been about. Shrugging it off, he entered the kitchen, slumping into one of the chairs at the table. The slight scrape of wood alerted everyone to his presence. Cid and Cloud were already seated at the table. Reading a newspaper originally from the larger island across the ferry, Cid had a cup of tea in his hand, and in front of him sat a clean plate that looked like it used to have food on it. Cloud, on the other hand, had a large cup of milk and a plate of eggs and toast that he had just started. He was wearing a soft blue button-up shirt, and he looked well-rested, which made Sora wonder if he and Leon had managed to work something out last night to where they had both gotten sleep without fighting.

Both men looked up at Sora's quiet arrival. Both men also stared at him for a moment afterward, Cid's teacup hovering in front of his face, and a piece of toast hanging from Cloud's mouth. Then, as if both coming to a silent conclusion, Cid gave a soft grunt, and Cloud smiled around his bread as he averted his gaze.

Sora frowned at them, wondering what the heck was up with everyone staring at him. Did he have something on his face?

"Good morning to you _too_," he said, feigning enthusiasm.

His mother suddenly appeared behind him, planting a cup of orange juice and a plate of breakfast in front of him. "Now, honey, you don't have to be sarcastic about it," she said, tapping his head with his fork. "What side of the bed did _you_ wake up on this mor—" She paused. "_Oh_." Then she didn't continue for a moment.

Sora turned, glancing at her. "Not you too. Why's everyone staring at me?"

Seiya got a kind of funny expression on her face before she giggled, waving a hand. "Nothing, honey. Eat your breakfast," she said as she retreated back to her kitchen counter.

"Seriously!" he sighed, fighting back a pout as he turned his attention to his food. Hunger won over his curiosity for now, anyway, and he began to dig in, trying to ignore the occasional lingering glance from Cid and Cloud across the table.

It wasn't until Irvine showed up that Sora discovered the secret.

The lively brunet entered from the other door, tipping his cowboy hat in greeting. "Hey guys. Mmm, Seiya, what's cooking? It smells _divine_," he practically sang as he sauntered over to her, passing the table and Sora.

"If you sit down, I'll show you," she replied back in a teasing tone, shaking her butt.

Sora rolled his eyes and shook his head, trying not to feel embarrassed about his mother. His eyes caught Irvine's, who was just seating himself adjacent to Sora.

A grin spread across Irvine's face immediately as he looked at the younger man. "Whoa-HO, Sora!" he laughed, bringing his hands up in an applause. "Congratulations!"

Red crept onto Sora's cheeks as he tried not to look confused or embarrassed. "W-Weh...?"

"Irvine, shut the fuck up," Cid said shortly from behind his newspaper, and Irvine snickered in response.

"Why is everyone staring and smirking at me?" Sora finally tried again, holding back a overwhelming surge of frustration. "_Really_, tell me!"

Seiya covered her mouth to hide a giggle, setting down Irvine's plate of food before departing again. The others were silent as well until Cloud decided to give him a break.

"Right here, Sora," he said calmly, pointing to the side of his own neck. "Two hickeys."

Wait, _what?_

"Giant," Cid offered.

"I don't think I've ever seen more obvious ones," Irvine commented, laughter in his voice.

"Boys will be boys," Seiya commented happily as she cracked an egg.

Sora gaped at them, completely speechless, as he felt his concept of privacy totally crumble around him. He wasn't sure what the burning, sinking sensation in his gut was, but he guessed it was complete and utter humiliation.

_Oh God... They all __**know**_

Now, it did not occur to him that they had already known that Sora and Riku had been fooling around. What mattered to Sora was that he was _wearing_ undeniable proof. Bruises linger. Surely Riku knew what he had been doing.

_Oh my God..._

_And I let him!_

_No wonder some of Riku's sucking had __**hurt**_

Sora lowered his face, furiously blushing as he hunched over, curling his hands in his lap. He felt sick. Really, really sick. And awkward.

It might not have seemed much to everyone else—just proof that Sora was finally beginning to experiment with people—but to _Sora_, it was practically earth-shattering. He wasn't sure if it was momentous in the "I'm becoming a man!" sense, or in the "Holy shit, Riku wants my virginity," sense, but it was as impactful either way.

"Sora, honey..."

His mom's concerned voice only made him more aware that the others were staring at him still.

_Stop being a baby,_ he told himself, taking a deep breath.

The abrupt sound of a chair sliding against the tile made him look up. Cloud was rising to his feet, his expression guarded as he studied Sora. His plate wasn't empty yet. Sora watched with large eyes as Cloud approached him, taking his arm.

"Come on. Let's see if we can cover those up before anyone else notices," he said, guiding Sora to his feet.

"But—"

Sora glanced back at his mom, who waved him off with a grin, and before he could utter a complaint, Sora was being dragged out of the kitchen. Still blushing, he followed close behind Cloud as the man kept a firm grip on his wrist.

"Cover it up _how_?" he asked as they began to climb the stairs.

"Make-up," Cloud replied simply. "Or something with a neck." The blonde glanced over his shoulder, giving Sora a knowing look. "You two have a date today, right? Let's surprise Riku."

Sora opened and closed his mouth a few times, not sure how to register the fact he was suddenly about to get a mini-makeover. Still, the idea of impressing Riku was tempting...

"O-Okay..."

"Good," Cloud smirked, tugging him towards his shared room with Leon. "Because you don't have a choice."

-o-o-

"What the hell do _you_ want?"

Riku glared over the edge of his large pillow at the tall brunet standing in his doorway. Squall looked amused in the smug kind of way, and normally Riku would admire that tiny curl of lips or the way his gray eyes shined with that secret knowledge, but this time that look was directed at _him_. And Riku knew exactly why the bastard was smug.

"Frustrated?" Squall prompted.

"Fuck you," Riku growled, curling up on himself.

The older man moved further into the room, calmly dragging a hand through his hair. "You're supposed to be focusing on Sora, if you love him so much. I'm not going to touch you."

A wounded look filtered through the anger on Riku's face before turning into defiance. He sat up, the epitome of grouchiness, his usually perfect hair currently a mess of tangles. Deep shadows circled his eyes as well, and even Squall had to admit that Riku looked like shit.

"For your information, Sora and I aren't _together_, and _you_ are supposed to be in this with me," Riku pointed out in a low, tense voice. "In case you forgot, you were the one who suggested I pursue this!" He hurled his pillow onto the floor, green eyes dark with anger. "And just so you know, _Squall_, I wanked off last night. _Twice_. Didn't help!"

"Riku, you're being a kid," Squall sighed, slowly folding his arms over his chest. "Instead of whining about your sexual needs, why not get your ass out of bed and pursue them instead?"

Riku clenched his jaw, hands balled into fists in his sheet. He just stared at Squall for a long moment, looking like he wanted to blurt out a hundred excuses, but in the end, he just sort of deflated, the anger drifting out of him. Slouching, Riku sighed, shaking his head. When he spoke again, he sounded distressed.

"Because as fast as I'm moving, I don't want to force Sora into anything," he admitted. "I want Sora... to genuinely _like_ me. I don't want to just... jump him."

Squall silently watched him.

Wetting his lips, Riku stared down at his sheet, picking stray lint off of it. "If I'm frustrated, I'm going to be less patient with him. Like yesterday..." He paused, smiling a little at the memory. "He was so cute."

Squall recognized that expression on Riku's face. He usually got it whenever he talked about Sora like this. He'd get that soft, distant shadow to his eyes, and he'd smile dreamily as he spoke, voice laced with a fondness Riku never carried for anyone else.

Riku continued, tone turning faintly guilty. "I was a bit rough, though..." Rubbing the back of his head, he sighed again. "It was obvious Sora wanted it, but he... resisted. I _told_ Sora in the beginning that I'd stop if he told me to."

"But you didn't," Squall said, catching on.

Hanging his head, Riku nodded. "And we have a date today. Well, practice date. Whatever." His voice lowered into a mutter. "Probably won't let me near him again, let alone take him somewhere out in public like that."

Squall gave a thoughtful hum and started to turn towards the door. "You say that, but Sora's already here."

The reaction was immediate.

"Shit!" Riku threw off his sheets and leapt out of bed, and Squall heard his footsteps hurry to his dresser. "Why is it that I can't predict him anymore?" he half whined as he dug through his clothes.

"He was sporting hickeys."

The rustling of clothes stopped momentarily. "He didn't hide them?"

"I don't think he realized they were there," Squall mused.

There came a soft laugh as Riku continued to sift through his dresser. "He'll know by now," he said with certainty. Then, in a murmur, "Need to dress down, Riku. Do not intimidate. Blend in. Yes."

Squall decided to stick around as Riku took a fast shower and then debated with himself over various outfits. Squall ended up towel drying and brushing Riku's hair for him as he continued to fuss over his damn clothes.

"Why don't you try picking something random," Squall proposed, his tone suggesting that he actually didn't give a flying fuck what Riku did.

To which Riku dryly replied, "Says the man who wears leather almost every day, even on an island."

Squall was tempted to yank at Riku's hair with the brush, but he restrained himself.

Calmly holding up a shirt that, as usual, looked too small for him, Riku gave a little laugh. "You were thinking about doing something to my hair, weren't you?"

"Maybe."

Riku knew from experience not to tease Squall beyond his ambiguous replies. Instead, he showed the man his shirt. "What do you think?"

The white tee had a slim, form-fitting cut, almost like a girl's babydoll shirt, with short black sleeves and dark lettering across the chest that stated, _Alas, poor Yorik_, and ended with a small black skull head that Squall assumed was designed to be cute.

He grunted his approval, running the brush a few last times through Riku's faintly damp hair as he watched the younger man reach forward to grab something from his night table. He held it up for Squall, who looked at the hair tie and obliged without making a remark. He took the elastic band and easily pulled Riku's hair back, leaving his bangs and almost ear tails hanging in his face. "It's getting longer," he commented.

"Sephiroth suggested letting it grow out a little more," Riku explained, slipping off his bed.

He tugged on his shirt, turning to face Squall as he straightened it out. Aside from it, the only thing Riku was wearing were his briefs. It looked ridiculous to Squall, but on Riku it was, admittedly, attractive. Riku was one of the few people Squall knew who could pull off wearing almost anything.

"And now, for the pants..."

At this rate, Riku was never going to finish. Squall wordlessly tossed him the closest thing on the bed, which was a pair of girl's green army-printed cargos. Riku took them, and as he inspected them, Squall saw the stylized thigh pockets with sandstone-colored ribbon ties. He knew that clothing design.

"That's Arc."

Riku glanced at him and then at the pants, looking at the tag in the back. Squall spotted the distinct black and deep purple tag of the Ars Arcanum line.

"I thought you swore off Ansem's designs?"

A slightly miffed look crossed Riku's face. "I did," he muttered. "Figures. The one time I don't check the tag... And since when does Ansem use _this_ kind of print, let alone casual style?"

Squall smirked, getting up. "Maybe he's branching out."

Riku frowned, studying the pants with an ambivalent expression. "I do like them..." he sighed, starting to pull them on. "Just like everything else that damn man makes. If he wasn't so keen on trying to seduce me again every time we worked together, I'd like him more."

"You always say that."

"Well, it's true," Riku grumbled as he tied the crinkled gray belt at his waist. He found some socks and was lacing up bark brown boots by the time there came a soft knock on his door. "If that's Irvine, go away!"

"It's Cloud," came the muffled reply. "I came to deliver something."

Both Squall and Riku's heads turned towards the door as it creaked open. Sora was pushed into the room, much to Riku's surprise and delight. The slender brunet stumbled a little, catching his balance, and turned to shoot Cloud a glare that only made him look cuter.

If anything, Riku was speechless for a moment as his gaze raked over Sora's appearance, taking in the sleeveless baby blue hoodie, designer tan khakis, and white athlete shoes with a cerulean stripe above the soles. With a closer look, Riku noticed matching baby blue wristbands, a faint touch of makeup, lip gloss, and eyeliner circling those nervous blue eyes.

It was a subtle makeover, with just a slight change in wardrobe and some added touches, but Sora had never looked more molestable.

Realizing he had a somewhat lecherous grin on his face, Riku closed his mouth and tried to find something coherent to say. Sora had noticed Riku's intense stare by now and was red-faced, avoiding his gaze as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Riku tried a few seconds more to come up with something meaningful, and it wasn't until Squall whapped the back of his head that he even made a noise at all.

"OW—" Riku froze in the middle of reaching up to rub the sore spot, noticing Sora's large eyes watching him. He played it off by dragging a hand through his bangs instead, grinning. "I mean—_Wow_, Sora... You look great. I mean—no... Yeah." He breathed. "_Really_ great."

Riku did not see hickeys, though.

Then again, if Cloud had been the one to do this to Sora, of course the hickeys would be expertly covered by now. Cloud had experience from hiding multiple love bites from his girlfriend because of his sexual excursions with Sephiroth and the man's great libido. Riku had heard stories.

A modest but pleased smile pulled at Sora's lips. He probably wasn't used to complements too often. "Really?" he said, curling a hand into the base of the hoodie, which looked like Cloud's.

_Really? Hell yeah! I want to throw you on the bed right now._

But he only smiled, saying aloud, "Yeah. It really brings a lot of attention to your eyes." And blush. And cute, pouty lips. And though the clothes weren't tight, they still accentuated the curve of his hips enough that Riku had a hard time resisting a direct stare at Sora's ass. Riku loved everything about this boy.

Sora looked away again, his smile spreading. The silence also spread between them, and it took Riku a moment to remember that Squall and Cloud were present. Maybe Sora would feel less awkward with the other two men gone.

Clearing his throat, Riku put on his confident smirk and started towards Sora, taking him by the arm. "It's still kinda early, but I haven't eaten yet," he said, leading Sora out the door. The other boy glanced back at Leon and then at Cloud, who silently watched them head down the hallway. It might have been Sora's imagination, but he thought he saw the blonde give a wink. Riku's hand near his elbow brought him back to attention as Riku continued to speak. "If you're up for it, maybe we can go on an early practice date to get it out of the way? A brunch thing."

Sora felt his heart give a definite flutter at the suggestion. Riku really wanted to do this. Go out in public together. On a _date_...

Sora couldn't help remembering Bickson and some of the other blitzball players and their disapproving stares as Sora had confirmed the rumors about him and Riku. He remembered their threatening tones, snide comments, and how there seemed to be that silent consensus throughout the island that homosexuality was disgusting.

Sora wasn't gay, but... He didn't think it was wrong, either. He had to admit that Riku's attention was really nice. Their kisses, Riku's hands on him, their bodies moving together...

Sora really liked it.

The problem was that Sora had nothing to compare this experience to. He liked girls, as far as he could tell, but he did find guys attractive. It was kind of hard not to stare at Riku and his friends sometimes. But Sora honestly wasn't _attracted_ to any of them.

Not like how he was with Riku.

What did that mean? Was it because Riku was the only one who had ever been this close to him?

"Sora?"

Sora lifted his gaze to find Riku studying him, waiting for a response. They had stopped on the stairs, and Riku was no longer holding his arm. He blinked at the older boy, finding slight concern in those green eyes, and he felt something warm settle inside of him. Smiling, Sora came to his conclusion.

_Maybe I'm Rikusexual._

He casually brushed his fingers against Riku's, his heart feeling warm. "Yeah," he said at last, pleased to find his own voice collected. "Brunch sounds good." He paused, liking how Riku's eyes lit with delight. He decided to try something new. "By the way... You look really good too, Riku."

For once, it was his turn to admire Riku's blush as they descended the stairs together.

-o-o-

"You seem distracted today."

Sora glanced up from the water, catching Riku's gaze. They stood side-by-side, leaning against the side of the ferry as the creaky vessel glided through the ocean towards the next island. Sora had been staring off into the waves below, thinking about what had happened last night.

As if reading his mind, Riku seemed to have picked up on Sora's train of thought and the caught look on his face, and put two and two together.

Sora hurriedly returned his eyes to studying the water as Riku spoke.

"I'm really sorry about yesterday."

Sora's heart leapt at the words.

Oh God. Riku was actually bringing it up.

Wait.

He was sorry?

Sora kept his gaze firmly rooted to the ocean, his mind whirling with a hundred thoughts, but Riku continued without prompt, releasing a quiet sigh as he too turned his gaze out to the horizon.

"Well, I'm not sorry I did it," he admitted, and Sora felt his stomach twist with something foreign. Riku didn't look at him, speaking softly. "But I'm sorry that I lied."

"L-Lied?" Sora managed, not understanding.

"I said I'd back off if you ever told me to stop," Riku clarified. "And last night I didn't."

Sora slowly blinked, heart racing as he thought back to that same moment from yesterday that he had been replaying over and over in his mind. His throat suddenly felt dry, but he continued to search through the memory, wondering if he had actually told Riku to stop.

He honestly couldn't remember saying anything at all. No, he remembered some of the _noises_ he had made, but...

Well, if Riku was apologizing about it, then he must have said something.

"It's alright," Sora said. And then stopped himself, feeling his eyes widen. Wait, had he just given Riku _permission_? "I-I mean, u-uh, I forgive you," he stammered, clutching the side of the ferry as if his legs would send him tumbling over it into the water. His heart felt ready to dance out of his chest, something akin to panic rushing through him. He was all too aware of Riku's gaze carefully studying him.

But the other boy said nothing. After a while, he returned his attention to the water, his elbow accidentally touching Sora's.

Sora silently thought that it would be okay if that subtle contact of skin stayed like that forever, just as long as this pleasant feeling inside of him remained.

-o-o-

Aerith's restaurant had once been small and modest, but ever since its foundation, it had gradually grown into a popular hangout for groups of friends or couples looking for a comfortable place to eat.

Miss Gainsborough had always been fond of Sora, and Sora still remembered the first time his mom had taken him across the ferry to eat at the new restaurant. Aerith had been like a goddess to him—young, beautiful, and impossibly well-mannered, even when all the boys around her flirted. Sora's mom had spent a few months working for her, but the job hadn't lasted long, and Sora had never learned the reason why. Still, occasionally she would treat Sora to a huge meal at The Parasol, and Aerith herself would serve them dessert free of charge.

True to its name, the restaurant was lined outside with tables and colorful parasols, shading patrons from the island sun that sometimes, especially during the summer, had a harsh bite. Since school was out, the place was dotted with familiar faces when Sora and Riku arrived. Sora was grateful that blitzball players had early practices on weekdays during the summer, otherwise they might have run into one or two of them. He wasn't eager to cause a disturbance of any kind, but he had that gut feeling...

And he was right to have it. He and Riku received plenty of stares as they were seated at a table near the front. Their waitress was a pretty girl named Yuna who had graduated a year before Sora. She gave them a polite but knowing smile as she handed them the menus and introduced herself.

Because it was the first time openly showing up in public with Riku since they had 'gotten together,' the reality of their situation was beginning to sink in. Halfway through ordering his drink, Sora came to an uncomfortable realization.

All of these people knew him or at least knew _of_ him. Judging from the lingering looks that people from the tables nearby were giving him, they also had already heard of his relationship with Riku.

Pretend boyfriends or not, everyone else thought it was real. Sora had known this from the start. What hadn't occurred to him was that it was going to be like this forever, even if his fake relationship with Riku wasn't.

These people would always remember this summer, the summer that Sora, the sweet kid with no father or future, had suddenly turned gay.

Sora would never find a girlfriend after this. He'd hear people whispering behind his back forever. He probably would end up like his mom, lonely and jobless...

"Sora?"

Yuna's voice stirred him from his thoughts, his stomach twisting with dread as he lifted his eyes to her. "Oh, sorry," he said in a flat tone. He couldn't muster excitement for this now that he knew his life had just turned upside down for good. "I wanted Paopu Delight..."

At the table to the right, he heard two girls mention Riku's name, and he tried to ignore them and the sinking feeling inside of him. He hardly listened to Yuna's recited waitress speech as she told them she'd be back soon with their drinks and to take their order, yaddy yadda. He did hear, however, Riku murmuring about how he was craving tilapia after going through those recipes for Seiya yesterday.

Sora was once again reminded of last night's event and what he and Riku had spoken about earlier. Somehow, remembering something so simple unwound his nerves.

Even if the entire world turned its back on Sora, one thing was for certain: there would still be people who loved him for who he was, not what he did or who he dated.

A stillness settled within him as his thoughts took a slightly different turn. He wondered exactly why Riku had dreamed up this boarding house business. Riku didn't seem to want to run the damn thing or do any of the work for it. Riku was also only making a small effort to make himself welcome on the island. He didn't even seem to really like the place... That, and Riku had never said he was out of the modeling business or was never going to college. How long was he planning on keeping this project of his?

And, most importantly, what was it all a cover for?

Riku, as big-headed as he was, didn't seem the type to come back to his childhood home just to take it over with his wild dreams. It also seemed too much of a romantic notion that Riku would come back to the island and put up with all of this just for Sora.

Still...

He felt a little floaty when he thought about it that way. It was like one of his mom's silly fairytales.

If it were real, somehow Sora really liked the thought of pursuing this odd relationship with Riku. It made him nervous as hell, but if he was indeed Rikusexual, everything would be okay. That was what his heart kept telling him.

If it was with Riku, Sora would try anything.

"U-Um, excuse me... you're Riku, right?"

Sora snapped to attention as one of the girls from the table over suddenly addressed Riku. She looked equally excited and scared as she slid him a paper napkin and a pink pen. Chin resting in his hand, elbow on table, Riku lifted an eyebrow at her.

She flushed a little and sped through her next sentence. "Iwaswonderingif... ifIcouldhaveyourautograph!!"

Sora watched as an amused smile pulled at Riku's lips. Slowly, and with very casual grace, he lifted his chin and used a finger to pull the napkin closer to himself. He silently uncapped the pen and doodled his name before replacing the cap and sliding both objects back to her.

Her eyes lit up and, Sora noticed, her friend still seated at the table was practically dancing in her chair with excitement. The girl uttered a rushed, "Thank you!" before retreating back to her seat, quiet squeals coming a moment later as the two friends studied the signed napkin.

It was silly, but it was an indication that perhaps not the entire island was as close-minded as it seemed. Riku _was_ famous, after all...

Sora felt a swell of pride in that moment.

Unfortunately, it was dashed a second later when he saw who was coming up to their table next.

"Oh no," he groaned, trying to sink into his chair. He had _known_ something bad was going to happen.

Riku frowned at the sudden change in Sora's attitude, wondering what was wrong. Following the other boy's gaze, he spotted a group of three men heading right for their table. Well, not men exactly. They looked a little older than Riku and like they were ready to join the armed forces or something. All three of them had buzz cuts and well defined bodies as if they spent their afternoons doing push-ups, sit-ups, curl-ups, the whole nine yards. No wonder Sora felt intimidated.

Riku recognized them immediately.

"Look who it is!" the skinnier one called, grinning at the sight of Sora slouching in his seat.

"Looks like Sora decided to pay our side of town a visit," came from the second man, attractive and dark-skinned and built like he could bench press both Riku and Sora if he wanted.

The third man, also good-looking, spoke with a slight drawl. "And he brought a friend to play," he said as they paused in front of the two boys.

It might have been eleven years ago, but Riku still knew this trio well. Back when he had been too small to defend himself, Sora had protected him from three bullies from a higher grade than them. This was them.

Gray, Ryan and Neil had all grown up, but it seemed as though they still liked to tease Sora. The strange thing was that the three of them looked like pretty good guys at first glance, which made Riku wonder how far they had truly come since their bully days. If Sora was not happy to see them, then something was definitely off.

Sora lifted a hand in greeting, not looking enthusiastic at all. "H-Hey guys..."

"So is this your boyfriend, then?" Gray asked, nodding towards Riku, who narrowed his eyes at him.

"Sure it's a boy? Might want to check those pants," Neil laughed, reaching out to flick at Riku's loose bangs. "So, Ri-ku, couldn't stay away from us, huh?"

"It's been a while. Think we'd forget you and your girly ass that easily?" was Ryan's insertion, his arms folding across his chest. "We don't want queers here."

"Guess that rules you out, then," Riku replied smoothly, meeting his dark gaze with a calm smirk. "What, did you guys pick us up on your gaydar? We just got here. That's a little suspicious."

Neil looked disgusted. "Dude, I think she just bit back. Maybe growing up without her boytoy gave her a spine."

"We didn't have to know you were coming," was Gray's reply, his lips drawn into a smirk to match Riku's. Ryan was scowling. "We smelt your dirty ass before the ferry even arrived."

It was hardly a two minute conversation, really. The rest was a silent showdown.

Sora bit his lip, not liking the dangerous gleam in Riku's eyes as he met their gazes, keeping his chin held high. Murmurs of concern were drifting around them from the tables nearby, and Sora saw their waitress standing with their tray of drinks, looking like she wanted to intervene. Aerith was already coming to the door, pausing just outside her restaurant as she sized the situation up.

She spoke after a moment. "Please break this up or take it elsewhere," she called out, her pretty face set with a stern frown instead of the gentle smile that Sora was used to. Riku and the other men didn't even waver, continuing their stare-down as if she hadn't spoken at all.

Sora could practically feel the tension, dread building inside of him as he watched Riku's jaw tighten, those green eyes set with a glare that Sora had never seen from him before.

Riku wasn't the same little kid from eleven years ago, and the others knew it. He wasn't backing down this time. Sora, who had always been brave enough to face off against prepubescent bullies, had not quite built up that courage to stand against the pre-military men now threatening to ruin his outing with Riku.

He didn't need it, though. Riku had at least enough to act for both of them.

The tension snapped right as Aerith called out to them again. Ryan reached out to grab Riku's shirt, and just as his large brown hand brushed the white material, Riku's arm shot out, sliding under Ryan's and knocking the oncoming assault away.

Then, with a complete lack of hesitation, Riku socked the guy in the nose with his palm and, with startling strength, overturned their entire table. Their colorful parasol flew, sugar packets scattered to the air, and unused silverware rolled as the table crashed to the cobblestone, knocking the three men back.

"Come on!" Riku cried, snatching Sora's wrist as the boy gawked at what had just happened. Riku jerked him clean out of his chair and—instead of apologizing or beating the guys up or sitting back down in hopes of ordering his tilapia, Riku broke into a run and dragged Sora along behind him.

"Waahhhh!"

"Come back here, you fucking queers!"

"Why are we running, Riku!"

"Because that was the only self defense move I remembered!"

Sora didn't look back and hastily fell into step next to Riku, heart hammering and adrenaline rushing through him as they raced through the boardwalk area. Panic and something akin to giddiness filled him as he heard rich laughter escape Riku as they fled.

"So much for that date!" he yelled, turning to glance over his shoulder at Sora. His green eyes were shining with exhilaration, his lips pulled into a grin so wide that Sora, despite his fear, ended up grinning right back.

Riku's warm hand found his as they bolted across the docks to the ferry, and Sora did not mind a bit.

-o-o-

They didn't make it straight home.

As soon as the ferry docked, Riku and Sora dashed through the fish market, laughing hysterically the entire way as they made their way past small stores and restaurants. People stared, pointed, but Sora kept his hand in Riku's the whole time, feeling his heart soar with emotions he had never felt before.

Freedom.

Pure, unadulterated _joy_.

He wasn't worried if anyone had been hurt by Riku's little skirmish. He wasn't concerned if any of Aerith's stuff had been ruined. He wasn't even hungry anymore, something much more fulfilling settling in his gut.

They didn't make it home because they were laughing so hard that they couldn't breathe.

Riku tugged Sora into a narrow alley between the tackle shop and the pharmacy. Both of them collapsed against the wall, breathlessly sniggering and holding the stitches in their sides. Unable to collect himself, Sora let out a groan in between his giggles, giving Riku an amused but pained look as he rubbed at a sudden cramp.

The moment lasted a few minutes, their laughter subsiding into soft panting, Sora glancing frequently at Riku to see if he was still grinning like a lunatic as well.

He was.

And something about that open look of excitement on Riku's face made Sora feel even more lightheaded and drunk with happiness. He didn't miss the sharpening of Riku's gaze as they studied each other's cheerful expressions.

He didn't even pull away when Riku reached for him. A hand curled into the neck of his hoodie, tugging him forward.

Breath catching, Sora planted his hand against Riku's knee, holding his balance, and his body gave a shiver of delight when Riku shamelessly slid a hand under the baby blue material to trace the warm skin of his belly. His stomach sunk under the advance, ticklish, and he grinned at the simple pleasure of the moment, threading a hand in Riku's loosened ponytail.

Riku gently smiled back, a shade of desire in his eyes, and Sora leaned in to kiss him.

Their lips met, soft and firm, something chaste and sweet. A test and an approval. Then they met again almost immediately, a smooth brush of lips and noses, and then again, bolder, partially open-mouthed and wet.

Sora breathed in as he pulled away an inch, licking his tingling lips and forming a slightly giddy face. Riku closed the distance again, Sora's lips separating, liking the arousing feel of the subtle touch of tongues. His mouth easily moved against Riku's as they kissed, alternating pressure and angle, and he didn't fight the warm palm that continued to move under his hoodie to explore his slender body, muscles growing taut each time Riku's fingertips skimmed a sensitive area.

This wasn't practice. Sora had no doubt of that.

And he didn't give a damn.

He openly welcomed Riku's romantic indulgence, releasing a quiet sigh of pleasure as Riku's tongue sensually stroked against his own, evoking a shudder from him. He savored the heat curling inside of him, captivated by how easily his body reacted to such preliminary stimulation, and he couldn't resist the temptation of encouraging more, wanting to _know_ more, feel more, taste more. If just _this_ felt this good, he couldn't imagine the rest.

Riku's lips fervently worked against his, supple and plush, a stark contrast against the teeth that playfully nipped at him. Even something that small was provocative enough to send Sora's mind reeling.

When Riku's thumb grazed suggestively against his nipple, Sora emitted a sharp gasp, their lips creating a delicate suction as they parted.

Their eyes met again, dark with quiet passion, and an awkward silence ensued, filled only with their ragged breathing and the hush of wind moving through the alleyway. Slowly, Riku's hand slipped away from the other boy's chest.

Sora caught his fingers, reacting without thinking.

Green eyes narrowed, sharp with obvious want, and Sora felt his heart quiver. Gaze unwavering, Sora decisively folded his hand with Riku's, and gave a nervous but willing smile.

It was all Riku needed.

He struggled back to his feet, keeping his hand clasped in Sora's, pulling Sora up with him. Something had passed between them in their silence. Something they both knew was real. They had not been hiding under the pretense of practice this time.

They sprinted the rest of the way back to Riku's place, still panting but for an entirely different reason now. Sora's heart thundered inside of him, feelings of pure elation sweeping through him as he clutched Riku's hand, feeling Riku return the pressure.

He wouldn't deny he was terrified. He wouldn't deny he was eager, either. This was something new, but he was taking this step willingly.

Neither of them hesitated as Riku threw open his front door and breathlessly tugged Sora towards the stairs, the other boy stumbling after him, eyes shining with excitement. The door was left swinging ajar, and no one had time to get a word in as both boys ran to Riku's room.

"Riku—" came Cloud's call at their back. "Wait a second, there's—"

"Whatever it is," Riku interrupted with a rushed laugh, "I'll take care of it later!" and left no room for objection as he and Sora disappeared around the corner of the upstairs hallway.

"_Riku!_"

But Riku shut his door and the rest of the world out, jerking at Sora's hand to pull their bodies together before releasing him finally. Arms wound around Sora's waist as their lips met again, this time forgoing the tender build up and diving right into a passionate kiss, Riku delving into Sora's mouth with quiet but focused hunger. Sora relished in the exquisite sensation of Riku's lips devouring his own, hips pressing against him, nudging him backwards towards Riku's bed.

_Too fast—! _his mind cried, but his body openly invited the advance, heat pooling in his gut as he felt the hard press of Riku's obvious state of arousal against his leg. _Oh my God—_

Riku's hands skimmed up his sides, gliding under his hoodie to feel his feverish skin, and Sora gasped into the kiss, tilting his head back as those palms ran over his nipples. Riku was wasting no time, and Sora was too caught in the intoxicating pleasure to complain. His mind spun with panicked thoughts when the back of his knees met the bed frame and Riku eased him onto the mattress, grasping his hips and lifting them, fingers pressing into the muscle of Sora's butt as Riku climbed over him, resting in a straddle.

Sora lifted his eyes to find Riku's, the green depths reflecting unmistakable desire. His lips curled into a sultry little smirk as he studied Sora's own enticing expression, and he leaned in to steal his air again, tongues brushing, lips pulling, teeth teasing. Riku adored the quiet sound of surprise that Sora gave when his fingers slipped under the waist of those khakis and Sora's boxers, shamelessly squeezing the bare skin of Sora's rump, pulling their bodies firmly together.

Their clothed erections grazed, and Sora released a soft whimper. His hands clutched at Riku's arms, unsure of how to react to such an intense feeling of _need_, the thrilling friction forcing the last of his hesitation away.

"R-Riku..."

Riku's teeth glanced his jaw, Sora giving a heady gasp as the older boy grinded into him, drowning him in heat and pleasure, driving him close to hysteria.

"R-_Riku_!" he gasped, voice laced with desire, coming out somewhere between desperate and scared. His fingers dug into Riku's biceps as Riku rocked against Sora again, kneading Sora's firm tush before sliding his hands around to the front, caressing into his taut stomach. "R-Ri..." he shakily breathed, tears stinging his eyes. "Ri-ku..."

Riku pressed a calming kiss to the corner of his mouth just as his hand slipped southward, curling around the source of Sora's pleasurable torture.

"Aaa!"

Sora arched his hips up, eyes wide, blinking rapidly past tears as he stared past Riku's shoulder.

That was when he saw the door swing open.

That was when he felt his heart stop.

A resounding gasp of horror broke through the passionate atmosphere, shattering their intimate perfection.

Hand still in Sora's pants, Riku immediately whirled around, eyes blazing with anger at the intruder—

And Riku froze, the color draining from his face when he saw who was standing there, clutching at her heart as if her entire world had just fallen apart around her.

Even Riku could only manage out a stammered question of confusion.

"A-Aunt Rena?"

She was a day early.

-o-o-

* * *

Thanks SO much for all the feedback for this story! It's like... awe-inspiring. I really don't know how to thank you all enough. 


	10. Ch 10: The Fantasy Ends

_Author's Notes:_

This was a fluke, I swear. I totally did not mean to write it this fast! XD I think it's because I was excited about finally moving the story along.

Big thanks to Mistress Nashya for always helping me with outfits, haha, and thanks to Gimmik for inspiring one of the spreads from a fanart of hers, and also thanks to Chama for helping with elusive facial expressions, thanks to Ki and Lane for listening to me rant about later plot factors, aaand lastly, thanks to Jess for the best commentary in the world. :3

* * *

_**  
Chapter Ten: The Fantasy Ends**_

-o-o-

"—your hand touching another boy's—"

"It's called a DICK, Rena!"

Sora had never had anyone fight in front of him before.

His mother occasionally would yell at him for some reason or another, but he had never witnessed actual _screaming_ or anger so raw that it even hurt to overhear. He had no choice but to watch as Riku yelled at his aunt who shrieked at him in return, both of them livid and tight-fisted, raising off their heels to better meet the other's face.

"Riku—you—I'm taking you immediately back to Atropos—"

"You can't!"

It scared Sora. He wanted to cover his ears and curl up and just _cry_ in a vain attempt to empty himself of these overwhelming emotions. His heart was still hammering from a few minutes ago when he and Riku had been together on the bed, and all of the fear and excitement he had felt then had only gotten worse, something painful twisting in his gut as he listened to them fight.

"—knew this was a mistake from the _start_—"

"Fuck you, I'm nineteen—I don't have to follow your fucking rules anymore! It's MY life!!" Riku snapped, green eyes burning with rage.

He hated seeing Riku this out of control. He was terrified of the sound of Riku's fury. He didn't have a clue how to help, or to hide, or even to act, and so he just stood there, petrified. He could only watch.

Rena was ranting, close to tears in her desperation to get her words out, and Sora had the distinct feeling that, back on Atropos, these two had fought before, if not often.

"—wasting your family's money!" she continued, sounding increasingly like a banshee as she kept raising her voice over Riku's. "What are you going to give your children!"

Riku's face twisted with absolute fury. "I'm not going to _have_ children! I'm GAY!"

"This isn't what your _parents_ wanted for you, Riku—!" she returned with another shriek.

Riku threw his hand out to the side. "Then fuck my parents, too!" he screamed.

That ended it.

Even Sora gasped, covering his mouth, appalled that he had just heard that.

Riku's voice faded in the room, leaving the atmosphere thick with disbelief, Rena's eyes wide and her colored cheeks turning pale at his words. Then, eyebrows drawing sharply together in disappointment, her hand came up, quick, cracking clean across his face.

Sora winced at the harsh sound, clutching his hoodie as he watched Riku's face snap to the side. Riku's jaw tightened, but he didn't flinch at the smack, his eyes reflecting a hint of grief in all of his anger.

Rena leaned close to Riku, speaking directly into his ear in a cruel, pointed hiss.

"You've disgraced us _enough_, Riku."

Then, as fast as the blow had been, Riku's eyes sharpened into a cold glare that scared Sora even more. He watched Riku's lips pull into a heavy line, a hint of red slowly tracing down his chin. Blood. One of Rena's rings must have cut him.

She spun on her heel, brushing her blonde hair back, and left the room without another word, leaving the boys alone. The sounds of her heels disappeared down the stairs, and it was a long moment before Sora released the breath he had been holding.

Feeling sick from everything he had gone through today, he bit his lip, terrified and unsure of himself. It was all moving so fast for him that he wasn't even sure what to think anymore. He felt hollow and overwhelmed all at once. He didn't even want to imagine how Riku must have been feeling.

He glanced at the older boy, who hadn't moved since the slap.

Silver hair hung in his face, most of it fallen out of his ponytail from Sora's fingers earlier. Sora couldn't see his eyes, but the tension in his shoulders and jaw were evident. He was upset. Tentative, Sora stepped forward, not sure what to do but feeling like he ought to do something anyway.

He reached a hand out, touching a stiff shoulder.

Riku recoiled and roughly brushed him off, pushing his hand away.

Sora's heart sank at the rejection. Biting his lip, he took a step back, warily watching Riku, feeling like he was dealing with something dangerous that could lash out at him at any time. He wanted to help, but... He had never comforted someone before. And Riku didn't seem to want him there...

Fighting back unwanted emotions, Sora started to turn away, completely at a loss for words.

He had only taken a step towards the door when he felt a warm hand suddenly catch his wrist. Before he could even squeak, he was being whirled around and enveloped in Riku's arms. Sora blinked, feeling Riku's grip tighten around him, holding him against his firm chest. The heartbeat beneath his ear was fast, and it took Sora a moment to realize that he was trembling because _Riku_ was.

Sora lifted his face, glancing up as best as he could in his position, and saw the lower half of Riku's face. His bottom lip was quivering, and that alone almost broke Sora's heart.

Riku crying? God, he didn't want to see that...!

Hesitantly, Sora slid his arms around Riku in return, rubbing a hand into the small of his back. It was the only form of comfort he could think of. Riku did not relax, but Sora kept on running a gentle circle there, closing his eyes and breathing softly, trying to calm himself down as well.

Despite Riku's bold statements and cocky smiles, Sora now knew that underneath all of that acting still remained some of the Riku he had known so long ago. Eleven years had been enough to build his new demeanor and life, but it hadn't been enough to erase the small girlish boy that Sora had once protected against bullies.

Sora turned his face, nuzzling it into Riku's shirt, and wondered why he still wanted to cry.

The rapping of high heels against the stairs alerted the two of them of Rena's return. Sora immediately pulled away, heart leaping inside of him, but he held onto Riku's arm, giving him a concerned look. Riku was wiping at an eye and already turning away.

"You need to leave," he managed to say, his voice firm but soft.

And Sora _did_ want to leave, but he didn't want to just abandon Riku like that. He hesitated, freezing when Riku's aunt appeared in the doorway. Mascara running, her green eyes focused right on him and then his hand on Riku's arm, and Sora promptly moved away from the other boy, feeling self-conscious under her angry stare.

"Go on," Riku whispered, pushing gently at Sora's back.

The boy glanced from Rena to Riku, unsure, but Riku gave him a pleading look that made up his mind for him.

Sora left the room, listening to the door close behind him. He waited in the hallway, curious but dreading listening to another fight, and he stayed anyway, slouching against the wall and holding himself.

The voices didn't start off raised. Though muffled from beyond the door, Sora could tell their tones were thick with tension, and it didn't take long for their edgy conversation to turn into a full blown argument again. He was sure the whole house could probably hear them as well.

Screams of, "I want my _own_ life!" and "I don't fucking _care_ what other people think!" came frequently from Riku.

On his aunt's side, she had quotes she had heard from people on the ferry on her way over here. It seemed she had been informed of Riku's homosexuality even before she had seen it for herself. Sora guessed that his and Riku's making out had definitely confirmed the rumors.

"_No one_ is comfortable with you moving in here! You're going to get yourself _hurt_, Riku!"

Was their situation really that bad? Sora couldn't help thinking about Bickson again. Even the bullies at the restaurant. And some of the uncomfortable looks people had given them...

But then, there were the other people, too. Kairi and Tidus were on his side. Selphie was even working for Riku. Yuna, too, had been polite. Aerith was probably going to be upset about that table Riku had overturned, but she had tried to break up the confrontation earlier. Even that girl who had asked for Riku's autograph—surely she had known that he was gay.

Not _everyone_ was so hostile towards them.

_Them_. That's right. He was branded as gay already, and always would be.

As their argument went in circles and only got louder, Sora felt more and more sick to his stomach. He pushed away from the wall and headed downstairs, noticing the grim faces of the people waiting around below. Everyone had been listening.

Sora glanced at all of them, noticing how Cid wouldn't meet his eyes, how concerned Tifa and Selphie looked, how uncomfortable Irvine seemed. Sora turned, moving towards the kitchen, brushing past Cloud.

"I tried to warn you two," the blonde whispered as Sora passed, but the boy bit his lip, unable to say anything in reply.

The ominous melody of "The Imperial March" abruptly went off, making Cloud flinch and scramble for his cell phone, and Sora left him behind to deal with Sephiroth's insistent calling.

Leon and Seiya were seated at the dining table. He met Leon's gaze first, his gray eyes calm and unconcerned as if to silently tell Sora, _Don't panic._ It was comforting. His mom, on the other hand, immediately got to her feet and rushed to his side, and he was surprised to find her so flustered.

"Oooh, I wanted to march right up there so badly," she said, sounding vindictive as she tugged Sora to a chair, "but they wouldn't let me. I swear, yelling at Riku like that—it makes me so mad."

Sora numbly nodded, sitting where she put him. She dragged her own chair close to his, holding his hands and looking into his face.

"Sora-baby, are you okay?" she asked, lifting a hand to run her fingers over his forehead, brushing his bangs aside even though they just fell back into place. "What am I saying, of course you aren't..." She sighed, shaking her head. Sora didn't have to look to know that she was giving him the expression that she reserved for hurt puppies and her broken kitchen utensils. "I just want you to know that neither of you boys deserve that kind of lashing out. You two have done _nothing_ wrong."

Sora nodded again, lifting his gaze to hers. "Mom, it's okay." She studied his face, saying nothing, and Sora knew that she didn't believe him. "It'll be okay," he insisted, not even sure _he _believed it. "This was supposed to happen... She's just a day early." _Riku was unprepared. That's all, _he added silently, mostly to comfort himself. It was true, though. Riku _had_ planned on traumatizing his aunt by 'accidentally' showing her he was gay.

If anything, she'd had uncannily good timing according to the plan. Sora and Riku had been fooling around a day early, and she had shown up just in time. It just had been bad timing on Riku's part. He hadn't expected to go that far, probably.

_Well_, Sora thought wryly, _at least it was more believable this way. _

If things did go according to Riku's plan, his aunt would leave him alone for good about getting married and stuff. And then...Well, and then Sora had no reason to be his pretend boyfriend anymore.

As Sora dwelled on this fact, there came the pounding of high heels on the stairs and then the sharp slam of the front door, practically shaking the foundation of the large house.

Seiya released a sigh. "I hope she's gone for good this time," she muttered, getting to her feet and rubbing her side. Sora glanced up at her, and she gave a tired smile. "Go talk to Riku. He'll need it..."

Talk to Riku. After all that?

Sora bit his lip, anxiety eating away at him, but he knew he should listen to her. Riku _would_ need someone to be there for him.

"And while you do that, I'm going to head home," she said, rubbing at her neck this time.

Confused, Sora looked at her again, brow furrowing as he asked, "Why? You never go home before making dinner..."

"I'm putting Leon in charge," she said, and Sora again noticed how weary she seemed. "I'm not feeling very well."

_Mom's sick? _was his first concern, and it showed on his face as he watched her. But then... _Wait, Leon can cook? Since when?_ The thought was slightly amusing despite the situation, but he brushed it off, standing up. "Are you going to be okay by yourself at home?" he asked, unable to remember the last time he had left his mom home alone that long since he had graduated. Then again, a part of him realized that he probably wasn't going to be staying here most of the night anyway.

She smiled and patted his cheek. "Sweetie, you're so cute." Then she reached for her spatula, getting that gleam in her eye. "Now go talk to Riku before I make you."

Sora glanced at Leon, but the man said nothing, just giving him that same look from before.

_Don't panic._

Taking a deep breath, Sora braced himself and nodded, turning away from them. He left the kitchen, but Tifa caught him before he could climb the stairs. She was actually dressed differently today, wearing an almost professional attire instead of her more alluring casual outfits. He blinked up at her as she stepped in front of him, giving him a guarded smile.

"Tifa?" he asked, wondering what she wanted.

"Hey Sora," she said, reaching out for his hand and taking it. "I got called back into work. They want to get some of the women's fall and winter stuff done, and I'm on the list. I'm goin' home tonight."

So soon? But... It hadn't even been a week yet...

Sora's face fell as he looked down at his hand clasped in hers. He tightened his fingers around hers and shook them, sad she was leaving already. It was like his own slap in the face. Tifa was leaving. He had just met her, but she was already moving on with her life again. The others were eventually going to leave, too, not just her. He had almost forgotten...

Cid, Irvine... maybe even Cloud, Leon, and Riku if things didn't work out.

"So soon..." was all he managed to get out, knowing he looked uneasy.

She gripped his hand firmly in hers and tugged him closer, smile spreading. "Don't worry about it. We all really like you, Sora," she said. "And if Riku has his way, we'll be seeing a lot more of you. Aaand, I like this place, so I'll be coming to visit. With a swimsuit next time, when the house is open for business, you know?"

Sora returned her smile, lowering his face. "Okay."

She squeezed his hand again and released it. When Sora lifted his gaze, he saw her expression turn fond and a little reminiscent. "Take care of Riku, okay?" she said. "He's more fragile than he seems." But then she paused, giving Sora an amused smirk. "I think you know that now though." Patting his shoulder, she started to turn away. "Oh, and put those magazines to good use!" she added in a loud whisper, winking as she lifted a hand in a wave. "Bye!"

Blushing, Sora waved in return. Her suggestion reminded him of the predicament he was currently in.

Glancing up the stairs, his smile slowly faded. He took one step at a time, worried about what he would find in Riku's room. Put in his situation, Sora honestly didn't know how he would handle the pressure of all those family expectations and social prejudices while hiding who he really wanted to be...

Maybe this whole thing wasn't just about Riku 'following his dream' or even trying to win Sora over. Maybe it was his way of breaking free of everything people had tried to shape him into.

While Sora felt sorry for him, he couldn't help... admiring him, too.

His aunt and the rest of the world might not understand why Riku would want to throw away his family legacy in exchange for a chance to be different, but something like that took courage. Why live your entire life hiding who you really are just because everyone expects you to? In the end, who is really in the wrong? The person who breaks the social norms for a chance to be happy? Or the people who condemn him for trying to be true to himself?

Sora wished he had a passion like that—something that could drive him to leave this island and pursue something he really loved. The problem, of course, was that Sora didn't have any real interests... or the drive to find any.

But...

Sora stopped in front of Riku's room, steeling himself. Somehow, he knew that Riku was his key to finding that future he wanted. Whatever happened here, in this house, during this summer, and with Riku... It was his chance to grow.

Releasing a steady breath, he stepped through the door, scanning the room for the other boy.

Riku was on his bed facing the wall, legs folded in front of him. He didn't seem to be upset, judging from his stature, but... Sora couldn't tell for sure.

"She left," Sora offered quietly, though the statement was obvious. Rena had slammed the front door so hard that Cid was likely to find cracks in the house infrastructure. He moved forward, carefully studying his friend, who didn't turn to acknowledge him.

Riku just gave a sigh, and when he spoke, his tone was eerily calm. "Yeah... she did." He sounded tired, and Sora expected to hear relief or some other sign that Riku cared about what had just happened, but there was none.

"So what now?" he asked, wishing he could sound half as impassive as the other boy.

This time Riku turned, placing a hand on his bed to keep his balance as he regarded Sora. "Well... I won," he said, still sounding neutral. His eyes lowered thoughtfully. "I guess... everything's going to continue as planned."

Which, of course, meant that there was no reason for them to pretend to be boyfriends anymore. Riku was free... and now so was Sora. Why did that kind of hurt to think about?

He was reluctant to bring it up, but it had to be done. He wanted to know for sure. And, more importantly, he wanted to know how Riku felt about it.

"So... what does this mean?" he asked, and then cautiously added, "About us?"

Riku's shoulders straightened, and Sora wondered what it meant. His tone was still empty when he replied, "Well... we don't have to pretend anymore."

"Oh..." Sora bit his lip, noticing that Riku wasn't looking at him. Did that mean that Riku didn't want him there anymore? "Yeah..." He paused, speaking quietly. "That's true..." Maybe Riku had just been using him after all.

The silence after his statement lingered, creating an awkward, tense atmosphere that steadily weighed on Sora's heart.

Then, still not meeting Sora's eyes, Riku said evenly, "So... you're free."

Sora's jaw tightened. He was confused. If Riku really liked him that much, why wasn't he asking him to stay? Surely their afternoon together had proven something about their so-called 'fake' relationship. Had Riku not noticed? Had he thought it had been an act? Why was he being like this?

"So that's it, then?" Sora asked, controlling the resentment rising inside of him.

He didn't want to leave.

Riku seemed to hesitate, and then he silently glanced at Sora, as if something had occurred to him. He moved off the bed and went to his desk, and Sora watched as he pulled out a flat box of black velvet.

"I... wasn't going to give you this until later. When things were working out more, but..." He paused, turning to Sora and holding the box out. "Here."

Surprise momentarily won over his concern, and Sora approached Riku to take the present, curious and, admittedly, excited. He hardly ever got gifts, and something about Riku wanting to give him one really made him happy.

Sora stopped in front of Riku, reaching out, wavering for a second as he lifted his eyes to meet Riku's. The other boy gave an encouraging nod, and Sora gently opened the box, fingers tracing over the velvet top.

There, laying on deep purple silk, was a silver necklace in the shape of a crown, polished so perfectly that it almost looked like a mirror. Not a scratch or fingerprint was on the metal, and the design and craftsmanship of it was so high quality that Sora couldn't help gawking. It was probably the most gorgeous and expensive thing he had ever seen in his life.

"W-Whoa..."

He breathed, blinking a few times down at the box.

Riku was studying his reaction. "It's to thank you. For everything." Then, almost embarrassed, he spoke softly. "Y'know..."

But Sora was having trouble processing that Riku was _giving_ this to him. It totally didn't seem like something that would be given just as a thank you gift. Sora hadn't even really done anything! They didn't even have a relationship—

Oh man, but Riku was already reaching into the box, pulling the chain free from the silk case. Sora stared wide-eyed as Riku, expression calm, held the chain open and reached forward, looping it around Sora's neck. The pendant fell nicely against his chest, not too heavy or flashy.

Sora was still staring at him when Riku took a step back, brows furrowed as he studied how Sora looked in his new necklace. "It goes good with the blue," he commented helpfully. "It's real silver. I once modeled with it, and liked it..." Then he lifted his eyes to Sora's, expectant.

Sora searched for something to say. "I-I love it!" he stammered, and relaxed when he saw Riku smile faintly. "It's awesome," he added, sounding a bit lost and intimidated. This 'small' gift of Riku's must have cost a bundle, Sora knew. And right then, he wanted to give some token in return, but... What in the world do you give a guy who could buy anything he wanted?

Riku's smile spread a little, and Sora returned it, touching the necklace, surprised he could feel so happy even after what had just happened a few minutes ago.

That happiness, however, faded after a minute, when he realized that Riku didn't seem like he was going to say anything else. Not even to ask him to stay. Sora would have thought maybe the gift had been Riku's trump card to ensure that Sora would follow him to the ends of the earth with gratitude, but...

Sora now realized that it had been something else entirely.

It was a goodbye present.

He curled his hand around the crown and lifted it, examining its flawless surface. "Thank you," he murmured, feeling completely at a loss.

"It's not much," Riku said as he turned away, "for what I put you through... but you said you didn't want to be paid."

_Not much? This is __**too**__ much..._

But Sora could hardly work his throat enough to even utter a, "Y-Yeah..."

He couldn't look at Riku. He wanted to, but how could he?

"Okay..." Riku paused, but his voice was still too ambiguous for Sora to read. Was he disappointed? Or tired? "So I guess I'll see you around?"

Or just wanted to be left alone...

Disappointment closed over that last bit of hope that Sora had felt.

_I guess this is it... It's over, then._

"Yeah," he said, sounding agreeable even though it was the last thing he really wanted. His eyes were burning, but Riku wasn't looking and couldn't see the tears that Sora had to offer. "I'll... see you around."

But neither of them moved. Sora waited an extra moment, clutching his necklace, hoping...

But the moment passed, and Riku said nothing.

Slowly, empty inside, Sora left the room in silence.

As his footsteps disappeared down the hall, Riku slipped his arms around himself and squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a shuddery sigh now that he was alone. He stood there, just holding himself, trying not to think of everything he had lost today.

-o-o-

Sora spent the rest of the evening taking care of his mom, who had indeed fallen ill and taken up a runny nose and bad cough. The next day, he woke up to find her missing already, and she hadn't left him breakfast. He guessed that some time over the past week, he had grown dependent on just immediately going over to Riku's house to find his mother cooking there, instead of the usual small meal at home that he had woken up to each morning for the past eighteen years.

Except, today he didn't want to go there at all. Last night, he had distracted himself by doting on his mother, but now that he was home alone and had nothing but his own silence to accompany his depression, he didn't know what to do.

Sora wasn't the type of person to sit around sulking all day when he was depressed. No, one thing he liked to do to cheer himself up was eat a lot. Preferably ice cream. Unfortunately, his mom hadn't brought home any ice cream ever since Riku had shown up and hired her, so that option was out.

He turned to his second option: keeping himself busy.

First he took a long, hot shower, relaxing in the comfortable atmosphere for as long as he could until the water turned cold. He spent the entire time trying not to look for evidence that Riku had ever used his shower—like the stray silver hairs, or how his bodywash was a few inches misplaced, and the showerhead had been pointing a little higher.

When he got dressed, he didn't bother being picky today and just threw on one of his own hoodies and a pair of shorts. He felt somewhat refreshed knowing that he didn't have anyone to impress today. He tried to keep his chin up, telling himself he didn't have to worry about his sexuality, that he had his life back now, and that he should be happy. Eventually people would find out that he and Riku hadn't been dating after all and that Sora wasn't gay. Sora was free to go off and try to find a girlfriend again.

But...

Somehow, it just felt so lonely.

The house was too quiet as he tried cooking his own breakfast, burning the eggs and even the toast. He ate it in silence at the dining table, scarfing the food down even though it was nasty because he was so hungry. He was actually grateful when the sky filled with gray clouds and it began sprinkling. It allowed him some background noise to relax in—the kind of noise that he hadn't ever really noticed was there, but now that his mom wasn't bustling around the house cleaning or cooking, he realized how dependent he had grown on it.

After cleaning his dishes, he trudged back up to his room, feeling empty and bored.

What kind of stuff had he done before Riku had shown up? He slumped onto his bed, trying to remember. All he could think of was hanging out with his mom, or Kairi and the girls... Or watching the guys play blitzball.

He realized numbly that he couldn't do any of that anymore. His mom was busy working, he was embarrassed about the girls, and the blitzball guys would just sneer at him. His only other friends were at Riku's house, too. Except Tifa, who had gone home.

Sighing, he pulled out the magazines that Tifa had given him.

A few of the covers proudly displayed attractive male models and boasted the reoccurring name _Omnislash_, which Sora took to be the monthly that he had first picked up, the one with the velvet sea spreads and all. He decided not to risk one of _those_ again, and chose instead what looked like a clothing magazine. _Ars Arcanum_. The stuff looked expensive, too.

Sora flipped through the first few pages, looking at girls in elegant shirts that seemed to accentuate every perfect curve in their bodies, long sleeves draping behind them and sometimes trailing down to the floor. He wasn't surprised to find some of the girls with fingers hooked casually on each other's belts or tugging a stray sleeve, almost sexual in the way they seemed to just barely touch and interact.

The guys were the same. Sora spotted Leon first, recognizing his impassive expression before anything else. His brown hair was tied back, but his long bangs still swept along his cheeks, framing his scar and gray eyes. Though he had never thought of Leon as that much older than himself, he looked especially young on this page, like he was only twenty or so. He had on a classy black top with an oriental collar and a slim cut that emphasized his waist. The tapering tail of the shirt hung low over his hips and cranberry leather pants, which laced loosely up his sides and revealed little diamonds of the toned skin of his legs.

Curious, Sora turned a few more pages, pausing when he saw a flash of silver hair. He stopped to study the new picture, secretly thrilled when he saw that it was Riku, not Sephiroth. Then he froze, realizing what he was staring at. Riku was wearing the crown necklace he had given him. It sat centered on his bare chest, its chain running under his hair, and something about its gleaming surface and Riku's pale skin made his nipples all the more noticeable.

Sora blushed and promptly turned the page.

Unfortunately for him, this spread was no better. This time it was Leon _and_ Riku, and both without shirts. Leon was sitting casually, one knee propped up, his arms loosely clasped in front of him. He was wearing a lion necklace, and though he was facing towards the side, his eyes were on the camera. Riku, on the other hand, was leaning most of his weight on an arm, which was half hidden by Leon's knee. Most of Riku's body was spread out, his legs bent to better show off his pants, which were riding low to display his boxers that boasted the brand name _Oblivion_.

And, though the main focus of the ad was obviously the pants and boxers, Sora's eyes drew right to Riku's face, which was angled upward and hardly three inches from Leon's, their noses practically brushing.

After all he had been through, he was surprised that he didn't really find himself jealous of their close interaction. Sure, Leon had been a lot more intimate with Riku than Sora probably would ever get, but he found that he was more angry towards himself for being so confused about what he really felt.

Here he was, trying to think positively about returning to his normal life, only to shift right back towards admiring Riku in the not-so-normal way. The guy didn't even have to be there flirting with him anymore for Sora to get flustered about it all.

Argh... There _was_ no going back to normal, not after all that!

Feeling desperate, Sora slapped the magazine closed and pushed them all onto the floor, glaring down at them. Then, fighting back a surge of frustration, he bolted from his room and through the hallway and down the stairs and out the front door. Riku's house was right there across the street, waiting, tempting.

But Sora shoved his hands into his hoodie, turned away, and headed towards town.

-o-o-

Riku was feeling restless.

He hadn't seen Sora since yesterday afternoon, and it was nagging at him. He kept wanting to go over there and take back what he had said and tell Sora a hundred different truths that he knew he would never have the guts to spill out like that. It was frustrating. He wanted to strangle something. Irvine had come close a few times, but Riku just gritted his teeth and hid out in his room, pacing back and forth or curling up in bed with Sora's shirt—which Cloud had given him earlier today, since Sora had left it after his little makeover yesterday.

It still smelled like Sora, too, and that helped calm Riku's nerves.

Everyone was busier than usual, making plans for the house now that Riku had stopped dawdling. In reality, Riku hadn't had much heart in the project before because he hadn't been sure that his plan would work as well as it had. His aunt seemed to be gone for good, though, and now he had the opportunity to focus.

Except now his focus was on Sora.

He hadn't wanted Sora to leave, but the other boy hadn't made an effort to stay and hadn't asked to be with him.

Fuck. Who was he kidding? Sora was probably eager to get back to his own life.

It hurt to think that all their time had grown into nothing. Sora still didn't understand him.

If only Riku could have _said_ something. He hated feeling this insecure.

Rolling out of bed and setting Sora's shirt aside, he headed downstairs to find someone to talk to. The sound of hammering and giggling didn't seem appealing, so he steered away from the construction and went into the kitchen.

At first he was confused to see Squall in front of the oven, his hair up and a black apron around his waist, but then he remembered that Seiya hadn't been feeling well and had appointed Squall as the cook. Riku watched for a moment as the older man pulled something out of the oven using Seiya's orange and yellow oven mitts. As he turned, Riku saw the white letters of "Don't piss off the cook" written across the front of the apron. Squall didn't look too happy, but then again, he always did have that slightly annoyed or impassive expression on his face.

"Having fun?" Riku asked, unable to hold back the teasing in his voice.

Squall actually honored him with a casual glance and a raised eyebrow, as if he were surprised that Riku had even shown his face today. Setting down the hot pan of biscuits he had just baked, he pulled off the mitts and tossed them onto the counter. He crossed his arms and moved near the stove, leaning there as if to overlook the pot of chicken noodle soup he was cooking. When he had made sure it was okay, he returned his gaze to Riku, lifting his chin in silent question. It was Riku's cue to tell him what was wrong.

That was one thing he really appreciated about his relationship with Squall. He would tell anyone else to fuck off and that he didn't want to hear their problems, but he always let Riku confide in him. Riku was grateful for it, especially now with his little Sora problem.

Sora...

_Maybe I had imagined it all,_ he thought sullenly, also leaning against a counter. _But if he had wanted to stay, he wouldn't have seemed so guilty for wanting to __**leave**_Riku lowered his face, rubbing fists into his eyes and sighing, depressed.

"Sora left," came Squall's cool statement after a moment of silence.

Riku gave a bitter laugh at that, nodding. "I know," he said, lowering his hands to wrap his arms around himself. "I let him go..."

"Let him go?"

"He didn't want to be with me," Riku muttered, staring at the floor. "He... didn't even put up a fight."

Squall said nothing. Offered nothing. Just watched.

A dismal sound escaped Riku as he covered his face with his hands. "I knew it wouldn't work." His fingers tangled in his hair, tight, pulling. "I knew it..." Pulling. "...I knew it." Pulling. "I fucking _knew_ it..."

"Then why did you do it?" Squall asked at last. He drew closer to Riku, studying him without a trace of sympathy. "Why did you listen to me and come all the way out here?" His voice lowered as he reached out, fingers wrapping around one of Riku's hands to ease his grip on his hair. "Stop pitying yourself and get back to work."

Riku lifted his face a fraction, glaring up at Squall through his bangs. "What?"

"The fight isn't over yet," he sighed, shoving at Riku's head, who growled. "Show everyone what you came here to do. If you sulk in your room like a kid, you _are_ one."

Stroking the side of his skull, Riku made a face. He wanted to be stubborn, but he knew when to listen to Squall. "Well what do you propose I do, then?" he asked.

A tiny smirk curled at the corner of Squall's lips, his gray eyes getting a knowing look to them. "Let Sora do the panicking for you."

Riku frowned, feeling guilty. He placed a hand on the counter, turning away from Squall, who backed off a little. "I'm free like I wanted. Got my own life now. But why does it feel wrong?"

"Hm. Sometimes things that feel wrong are actually right," Squall said.

That smidgen of ironic-sounding wisdom made Riku smile. "The problem is telling which is which," he commented dryly. "I never expected it to be so easy. That's what bothers me. I keep expecting it to bite me in the ass."

Squall shrugged. "Even if it does, you'll find a way. You always do."

Riku glanced up, wondering at the strangely sentimental comment. "Huh?"

But then Squall really smirked. "You're more resilient than a cockroach."

So much for sentimentality.

Riku slapped his arm and grumbled. "Asshole."

"Whatever."

Seiya chose that moment to bustle into the kitchen, pieces of tissue stuck up her nose. "The chicken soup!" she cried, carrying the universal pitch of nasal congestion. "My chicken sooooup!"

"Ah—" Squall moved to stop her, but she was already stirring the soup and turning the heat down.

"Oh how I wish I could smell this," she whined, rasping a little. Then she noticed Riku there and hesitated. Usually she was quicker on her feet, but Riku gave her the benefit of the doubt since she was sick. "She hit you!"

Riku faltered, confused. "What?"

Seiya gestured to Riku's face with her wooden spoon. "You have a bruise. Oooooh, now I'm _really_ mad at Rena!"

Grimacing, Riku shook his head, managing to give her a withering look while trying not to smile. _She's hopeless._

The woman adjusted the tissue stuck up her nose and turned to Squall, coughing a little into a hand. "Now, Leon-hun, what are you planning for dinner? Because there's some chicken thawed out, and..."

But Squall cut in, giving her a pointed look. "You need to take medicine."

Riku had to admit that she did seem worse for wear, but she waved off Squall's suggestion, making a disgruntled sound.

"Medicine never works on me," she laughed, voice cracking. "And I don't have any anyway. Sora used it all a few months ago."

Sora...

The words were out of Riku's mouth before he even realized he was asking them. "Has he been around today?"

Both Squall and Seiya glanced at him with grim expressions as if they _knew_ what had happened. Riku didn't even have to be told that Sora hadn't shown up yet. Maybe Sora was avoiding him... Then again, Riku wouldn't blame him. He was probably at home still sleeping.

"Oh well," he sighed, giving a half-hearted smile. "I'm going to go see if anyone needs my help."

"And I'm getting you medicine," he heard Squall say as he turned to leave the kitchen.

"And I told you, it won't woooork," she whined, their voices fading as Riku passed through the hallway, heading towards the sounds of Cid barking out commands as people worked.

Cloud was just rounding the corner, cell phone in hand, and he froze when he saw Riku. "Oh—shit—" He paused, stopping himself from saying Riku's name. "Look, Seph, I really have to go. _NO_, stop calling! I'm on extended leave, remember? Look, Tifa's not here either. What? Who the hell is _Leon_?"

Fuck.

Riku's eyes widened as he listened and watched Cloud practically panic over the phone. Sephiroth was still stalking his cell, it seemed, and if he was asking about Tifa, he obviously knew they had been together. And _shit_, how did Sephiroth know that Cloud had met Squall, let alone that they were all here?

He suddenly realized that his own phone probably had a gajillion missed calls, too.

"No, I'll talk to you later. Bye—yes, yes, I know... " Cloud's voice lowered. "I know. I'm sorry. Bye."

The sound of his cell phone snapping shut resounded in the hallway as Cloud and Riku stared at each other. Slowly, the blonde tucked his phone away and ran a hand through his hair, sighing, everything about his posture reflecting exhaustion.

"He's starting to piece everything together," Cloud glumly announced. "He knows we're all together somewhere. I think Yuffie blabbed."

Expression darkening at the news, Riku nodded. "Alright. We'll deal with it when the time comes," he said. "And thanks for stalling for me." He knew that if Cloud wasn't so good at playing dumb with Sephiroth, the man would have found out where they were by now. And Riku would rather not have him involved at all in this.

"Just hope I can keep doing it," Cloud said, giving a weak laugh. "He's calling every time he makes himself a five minute break. And you might want to start answering your phone... He thinks you and Leon ran off together."

"Of course," Riku muttered, rolling his eyes as he started to move past Cloud. "And not that far from the truth."

-o-o-

People were staring at him.

He wasn't even with Riku today, and they were still watching him like hawks, as if he could just look at a child and turn them gay or something, or like he'd suddenly start sprouting horns like a monster, or begin emitting some kind of blatantly queer behavior. It was as annoying as it was unnerving.

And they all still thought he was with Riku. Funny.

...or not.

He sighed, trudging along the street, hands in his hoodie. He kept avoiding looking up, not wanting to see another familiar face regard him as something dirty, or someone to be pitied, or... 'saved.'

"Hey Sora!"

His heart gave a small jerk at the voice. It was Kairi. Keeping his head down, he continued on down the street, listening to the sound of shoes on cobblestone as she ran to catch up with him. She must have been at the post office or something and had seen him as he had passed.

"Sora, wait up!" she called, and he obediently slowed his pace, figuring that he could at least be civil to one of the last people trying to be civil to _him_. Her hand closed around his arm as she fell into stride next to him, and only then did he lift his face, giving her a faint smile in greeting. "What's wrong?" she asked, blue eyes reflecting uneasiness.

Sora noticed the concern and realized she must be worried that he had been trying to avoid her or something. Maybe she was still insecure about what he thought about her after how she had treated him. He really didn't care anymore though. At least she had apologized and was making an attempt to accept him, whereas the other people on the island were acting like he was the plague.

"Oh, nothing," he said, shaking his head. "Just..." But he trailed off, not really knowing what to say.

"Did something happen?" she wondered, slipping her hand free from his arm. He kind of missed its warmth. He found it kind of funny how, a week ago, just that kind of touch would have totally embarrassed him. After all that with Riku, though, a girl's hand on his arm was pretty innocent.

He shook his head again. "No... Just felt lonely. That's all."

A puzzled look crossed her face as she studied him. "Lonely? With all those people over there?" she asked. "What happened to Riku?"

He gave a pained smile. "Kairi... Riku and I aren't together."

Her curiosity twisted into confusion, and Sora knew that she was thinking about all of the things she had heard, things he and Riku and Seiya had told her, things the islanders had said, things she had seen for herself. But Sora knew didn't want to hold onto a lie.

"You guys... already broke up?" she asked hesitantly, sounding disappointed.

Sora blinked. _Wha...? No—we weren't even together in the first place! _But why did she seem saddened by the thought of them breaking up? "Um..." He faltered, searching for an explanation. She had totally misunderstood this situation, but for some reason, he didn't want to correct her.

Her eyes filled with sympathy. He could only imagine the things she wanted to say to him. Probably stuff like, _It's not your fault, Sora. People don't want to date you because you're like their little brother, that's all._

Well, whatever. He didn't want pity. He appreciated her concern, but... she had done it to him, too. Even if he had forgiven her, he still felt that rejection.

Lifting a hand, he touched her shoulder, managing a faint smile. "Anyway, see you around," he said, hoping she wouldn't want to come with him on his grand sulking adventure. "I just want to be alone for a bit."

And as he pulled his hand away, waving as he walked off, she stared after him. Sora had the gut feeling that he had just unleashed something, like she was going to tell her friends what she had heard, and in turn they would tell the rest of the people on the island.

News traveled fast, and... he had just given the decision to Kairi.

-o-o-

No one knew where Sora was. Seiya had gone home momentarily and had come back with the news. No one seemed too concerned, really, but Riku, against Squall's advice, hid up in his room, worried and annoyed and at a loss as to what to do with himself about this whole mess.

Downstairs, Tidus had arrived to visit for a few minutes before he had to leave for the late morning blitzball practice. He was confused as to both Riku and Sora's disappearances when he arrived, but he didn't ask questions and let Selphie drag him around to show him the rooms that were almost done. The sound of running water caught his attention, and he wondered if maybe someone was bathing or something.

"The White Room and Black Room are aaaaalmost done," she chirped, momentarily releasing him as she bounced into the first room on the right just up the stairs. "And the Premium Room is about half way! I sooo want to design the last room, but Cid won't let me!"

Irvine came bustling by, cradling a box of tools under an arm. He grinned when he saw Tidus standing in the hallway. "Hey sexy," he greeted, tilting his cowboy hat with his free hand as he passed. "Better get to work before we punish you."

Tidus flushed, staring after him, taking a second to admire the older man's white muscle shirt and ratty work cargos. With his long brown hair pulled back under the cowboy hat, he looked really good today. Well, he did other days too, but Irvine hadn't really flirted with him before. It made him wonder if it was just teasing or if the guys here could actually tell he liked other men. He hadn't said anything, but... they seemed to know anyway.

Selphie was still chatting on about the set themes of the rooms and how it was all so cool how everything matched. With an occasional nod and an "Uh-huh," he pretended to listen as he took a few steps back, surveying Irvine's butt as he rounded the corner. The man turned at the last second, smirking as he caught Tidus watching, and gave a little wink before he disappeared.

"Tidus, are you listening or flirting?" Selphie suddenly huffed, standing right next to him.

"Listening—I mean—" He turned to her, cheeks coloring even more as her words sunk in. "Sorry."

"Irvy is miiine," she giggled, poking Tidus in the abs. "Keep your eyes to yourself, lover boy."

"Selphie," he laughed, shaking his head, and she gave him a knowing grin, jabbing him with her elbow.

It was at that time that he heard the dark chime of someone's cell phone. For some reason, Selphie hadn't noticed and went on to the next room, calling after him to hurry his cute tush up. He started to follow, noticing how the cell phone got louder, as did the sound of running water.

Someone _was_ in the shower.

Cid's voice suddenly called down the hallway. "Someone turn off Cloud's fucking phone! I'm fucking tired of hearing that thing all damn day! Shit, I need a cigarette..."

"I'll get it," Tidus announced immediately, taking his opportunity.

He opened the bathroom door and was greeted by a cloud of steam and the rich scent of body wash that almost smelled like cologne. It was really sexy, whatever it was. He quietly moved to the sink where the phone was still buzzing and singing some kind of march. Guessing that it was Cloud in the shower, he tried not to think of the blonde's perfect nude body just beyond the plastic curtain as he picked up the cell and flipped it open, stepping outside the room to escape the sound of water in the background.

"Hello?"

"...this isn't Cloud," came the immediate response. The voice was deep and smooth, tinged with slight impatience as well as curiosity. "Where is he... and who are you?" It was also authoritative and sultry. Tidus liked this guy's voice.

"Cloud's busy right now," he casually replied, listening to the man's soft, thoughtful hum in response.

"Why would you have his cell phone on you?" the man asked with a hint of amusement. "And you did not answer my other question."

"He's in the shower, and I'm—"

"WHOA!" Cid suddenly cried, appearing out of nowhere and snatching the phone from Tidus. He held it to his ear, blatantly ignoring Tidus' affronted look. "'ello? Ah, Sephiroth. Yeah, how's it goin'? What the fuck do you mean 'who is this'? It's Cid, you fucking prat."

_Sephiroth?_

Tidus felt his blood freeze.

_Oh my God, that was __**Sephiroth**_

"Heehee, was Tidus being a bad boy?" Selphie teased, standing not too far away where he had left her.

But Tidus wasn't listening, not even to Cid as he carried on a rather informal conversation with the sex god named Sephiroth. Gah, and he wanted to stay so badly and hang out with all of these people some more, but he quite abruptly remembered his blitzball practice.

"Shit!" he cried, checking his watch. His panic only lasted a split second, however, gone once he saw that he had time to make it there if he left now. "Sorry, Selph! I need to go to practice!" he said, already turning towards the stairs. "Take me on the tour later!"

"Wah, meanie!" she called after him in a whine.

He was practically out the door when he ran into Leon, literally, making the older man stagger. "Ack—sorry—" he said, part of him wilting under the man's cold gaze. He looked annoyed. "I'm running kind of late."

Leon seemed to take this excuse and nodded, heading out the door. Curious, Tidus fell into step beside him, and it wasn't until Leon glanced at him out of the corner of his eye that the blonde bothered speaking again.

"Where are you going?"

"To buy medicine for Seiya," Leon said distantly.

"Is she sick?" Tidus asked, recalling that he indeed hadn't seen Sora's mother today.

"Hence, the medicine," came the dry response.

Undaunted, Tidus walked alongside the older man, not minding his curt speaking or the silence. When he was sure Leon's attention was on the street again, Tidus snuck a long look at him, studying his serious face and icy eyes and the sweep of his shaggy hair around his long neck. He was dressed almost simply today, just a white shirt with his usual leather pants and a belt. He really liked to watch the man's body move. It didn't take an athlete like himself to be able to see the power of the muscles just under his shirt. The man had really nice arms too, and Tidus wondered if Leon was into a certain sport or just liked to work out.

Before he could get caught staring again, he shifted his gaze away, throwing his arms up, walking with them crossed behind his head. "Do you like sports?" he asked offhandedly, turning to fully look at Leon.

Those gray eyes slowly shifted to regard him. "A few," he replied.

"Like what?"

"I like to swim."

Tidus brightened. "So do I. Well... that's a given, for blitzball. Do you like to blitz?"

This time he got a shrug. "It looks fun."

"It is. Man, I love blitzball," Tidus said, grinning to himself. He lowered his arms, dragging a hand through his hair. "There's nothing like it. It's way cooler than basketball and soccer and polo."

"Hm."

"So is that all you like to do? Swim?" Tidus wondered, probing for more information.

"When I don't have time to visit the natatorium, I go to the gym," Leon answered, seeming to open up a little more. "Like with Riku. We have to stay in shape."

"Obviously," Tidus commented with a smile.

Leon turned his face, giving the blonde a curious look, but he didn't say anything until he was faced forward again. "Must be hard to do sports in this kind of environment."

Finding that statement ambiguous, Tidus watched him, brow furrowing. "What do you mean?"

"It's such a close-minded place," Leon said. "A dozen barely clothed boys all in the same locker room after a heated practice, and all of those boys are socially trained to despise things that they find threatening. Like homosexuality." He paused, glancing at Tidus again, who was staring at him with a kind of offended look. "It seems like a nightmare for one of us. Especially having to hide any attraction you might feel for some of them."

A slow blush crept onto Tidus' cheeks, and he looked away. "How did you know?"

"Know what?" Leon asked smoothly, returning his attention to the stores they were beginning to pass.

"That I'm..." He hesitated and lowered his voice. "You know..."

"Attracted to other men?" the older man offered.

Fear curled inside of Tidus, making him feel sick. "Is it that obvious?" he asked, giving Leon a pleading look.

The man shook his head. "No," he said. "But I've been there."

Tidus blinked in surprise, suddenly studying Leon in an entirely new light.

Meeting his eyes, Leon gave a subtle smirk and reached out, mussing Tidus's sun-kissed hair. "Did you think you were the only one who went through that kind of thing?"

Grinning, Tidus laughed and shook him off, shoving playfully at his side. Somehow, he felt significantly more confident about his condition now. Leon had a point, definitely. Tidus wasn't alone in his endeavor at all. He still had to keep his preference hidden, but at least he knew that maybe one day he could be like Leon and Riku and Cloud and all them—

Honest. Free. _Proud._

He knew for a fact that he wasn't going to be that kind of person here of all places.

A few minutes later, Tidus waved to Leon and separated, taking a different street to head towards practice. All along the way, he couldn't help thinking about how he probably wasn't the only one who had needed to hear that kind of thing.

Maybe Sora had felt as insecure as him, too.

-o-o-

There was something about dreary days that Sora really appreciated.

The gray clouds had thickened, bringing a strong, cool breeze with them, rustling the palms that grew along the grassy line near the seawall. The trees stood tall, isolated from each other like people with arms spread out, fingers fanned open as if to catch the fleeting wind. Sora hated palm trees, but he loved the thick whisper of the palms leaves as they brushed together. It was a soothing sound, like his mom flipping through her recipe cards as they both lazed around in the living room.

He would miss that time alone with his mom. Now that she had a real job, he'd have to go to Riku's to see her. He'd have to go there for practically everything.

That's all he had been doing, really—just sitting at the seawall, staring off into the gray horizon and playing with the crown necklace Riku had given him. The dreariness of the day didn't make him feel so guilty about wasting his time brooding, and he had indeed done a lot of brooding and come up with nothing.

He wasn't even sure why he had come _here_ of all places. This was where he had run after the ferry all those years ago, watching Riku get pulled out of his life. Little girly Riku.

...and suddenly, Sora really missed him. It hadn't even been a day yet, but he just couldn't stand how Riku had just let him leave like that. Were they even friends now? What about all of those emotions he had felt while 'practicing' with Riku?

Hey, virgin or not, raging hormones or not, Sora thought he had felt something a little more than just "Hey, you're my pretend boyfriend, so I'm going to let you molest me." Sora wouldn't have let anyone else do that to him.

Biting his lip, he lifted the necklace up, studying the gleaming surface the crown. It had a few fingerprints on it now, but Sora made no move to wipe them. This was his now, and he was going to wear it with all the love he could.

"Yo Sora!"

He froze, clutching the necklace to himself, panicking for a second. Okay, maybe it was too soon for someone to see him with it—he really really really didn't feel like answering weird questions!

He stuffed the necklace into his hoodie's pocket right as he turned around, watching Tidus jog up to him. He had probably been on his way to practice. The seawall was within sight of the street leading to the ferry that students took to the high school on the island over, so Tidus had probably seen Sora sitting there.

Sure enough, the blonde was quick to announce, "I was just on my way to practice!" as he stopped in front of Sora, grinning at the other boy as he rose to his feet, feeling awkward. Every time he bumped into Tidus, he couldn't help thinking about what he had overheard the other day about Tidus really liking him. At first, it had been kind of surprising, but now he just felt a hint of tension.

Tidus liked him.

Sora gave him a friendly smile, though he wasn't in the mood to really talk to anyone.

Tidus seemed to notice his lack of enthusiasm and toned down his cheer to match Sora's somber mood. "I had heard from the others that they hadn't seen you all day, so I figured something was up," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "Anyway, I can't stay, but... I wanted to tell you something."

Something inside of Sora gave a half hopeful, half scared leap. He shifted his weight, trying not to feel weird just standing there—why did he feel weird anyway? Was it because Tidus looked pretty cute today? Because he knew Tidus liked him? Because... he was standing a little close...?

Oh God, maybe he wasn't just Rikusexual.

"U-Um... what is it?" he asked. He had a fleeting thought that made his heart do a little somersault. _What if he actually confesses to me right here?_

Tidus grinned again, reaching out to mess up Sora's hair. "It's nothing scary, don't worry," he assured, and then gave Sora a playful jab in the ribs. "Just some encouragement."

A breath of relief escaped him, and he managed a smile in return. Somehow, Tidus's playfulness made him relax more than his words. "Encouragement for what?" he said with a soft laugh, fixing his hair.

"Well," Tidus began thoughtfully, "I had some time to think, and... I just wanted to tell you that I'm really happy for you and Riku."

_What?_

Sora stared at him, confused for a moment, and Tidus watched him expectantly, his smile unfading.

_Oh. Tidus doesn't know what happened yesterday. He thinks we're together. Oh man..._

But even if Tidus was misinformed, something about his eased attitude concerning their relationship made Sora feel a little happy. Tidus wasn't bitter about Riku reaching him first. No, Tidus was... congratulating them.

Once again, like with Kairi, Sora didn't have the heart to correct him.

A genuine smile crossed his face. "Thanks, Tidus... That means a lot to me." And it did.

Tidus brightened some more. "It takes a lot of guts to be as open as you guys are about your relationship," he said. "Just keep in mind that there are always people on your side."

Taking his words to heart, Sora nodded, smile spreading. "Okay..."

"Ah! But now I have to go to practice!" Tidus laughed, suddenly breaking the calm, meaningful atmosphere. He slapped Sora on the shoulder and gave a wave as he started to run off. "I'll see you later!"

Grinning, Sora waved after him, calling out. "Bye!" But in reality, he really wanted to go with Tidus and play a few rounds of blitzball. He had already graduated, though, and hadn't been too big on the team at school. He just liked the sport and played it occasionally. Even just watching their practice would have been a nice way to pass time, but Sora was all too aware of who _else_ was on the team.

Tidus and Wakka were friendly with him, but, once again, Sora thought back to the encounter with the other players and how they had come to see if the rumors about him and Riku had been true. Sora didn't want to live through another one of those experiences...

Glancing up at the darkening clouds, Sora folded his arms around himself and turned to head home.

-o-o-

* * *

Don't worry, this fanfic is faaar from being over. And this chapter finally shows some of the story's deeper elements, which is exciting for me because I can't wait to get to some of the later scenes. 


	11. Ch 11: No Silver Lining

_Author's Notes:_

For Carrie and Ryan, thank you for your amazing words of support.

* * *

_**Chapter Eleven: No Silver Lining**_

-o-o-

The gentle breeze from before had picked up, the black clouds overhead warning of an evening shower or thunderstorm. Not looking forward to sleeping through nature's PMS, Sora drew in a long breath and sighed, feeling sorry for himself. The better mood that Tidus had put him in was quickly fading back into that quiet uncertainty gnawing inside of him.

He didn't want to go home and spend the rest of the day moping around, but he didn't know what else to do. He lowered his head as he trudged down the street, trying and failing to keep himself from Riku-related thoughts. Again.

He knew he should talk to the other boy, but... well, he didn't know what to say! Hell, he didn't even know how he felt.

As he released another sigh, closing his eyes, the wind brushed gently at his messy hair and tickled his cheeks. It felt almost like fingers moving through his hair, and he couldn't help thinking about how nice it had been when Riku had trailed his hands through his hair. Riku had done a lot of things that had felt nice... And, following that line of thought, his mind began to wander to other things about Riku, but a familiar voice cut him out of reverie.

"Hey Sora!"

He froze, heart skipping.

"Look what the queen fairy dropped off."

"Dude, that was so gay."

Sora knew, before he even looked up, that the situation he had suddenly found himself in was exactly the kind of situation he had been dreading. A confrontation. And he was alone! Oh God, he should have stayed home or sucked it up and gone over to Riku's place.

Curling his hands into his hoodie, he slowly looked up to find two of Bickson's buddies approaching him. Blitzball players.

The first was Graav, a sandy blonde jock with a reputation for being a blitz ruffian. With his best friend, he made a mean team, but thankfully Bickson wasn't here at the moment. No, the other person was Jumal, who had a constant sneer on his face as if the air always smelled bad, and right now that sneer was looking worse than usual. Sora knew that Jumal was pretty good friends with Ryan, the military buff who had attacked Riku back at Aerith's restaurant. The entire island had probably heard about _that_ by now.

Shit-shit-_SHIT!_

A surge of panic moved through Sora as they drew closer, and he was sure it showed on his face because their expressions only grew cockier. They knew he was scared of them.

Sure enough, Graav gestured directly at Sora. "Dude, _that's_ gay," he said, and Jumal laughed in response, flashing Sora a smirk that seemed as dangerous as it was derisive. Even though they were still far away, they were speaking loud enough for him to clearly hear them.

"You're right," Jumal said, and the grin that Graav gave Sora was almost bloodthirsty.

Sora did the only thing he could do. He made a sharp turn and headed down a side street between two buildings, hoping that they wouldn't follow him. Even if he just broke into a run, it wasn't like he could escape them if he tried. They were _athletes_. His only source of comfort was that they were in the business sector, giving him witnesses if they did try anything.

Despite his resolve, though, his strides were hurried. He tried not to focus on the sounds of their footsteps following him or how they seemed to be gaining on him, and he prayed it was just his imagination making things out to be worse than they were. Then again, just because no one had ever been hostile with him before, he wasn't an idiot. The tension on the island had been bad, even bad enough for him to pick up on during his short trip out today, and he was sure all of the lingering looks weren't just his imagination being paranoid.

Behind him, he heard the two athletes whisper something, their voices too close for comfort. He picked up his pace even more, about to pass the buildings, when someone stepped into the alley in front of him.

It was Bickson.

He didn't seem surprised to see Sora there. If anything, when he recognized the panicked look on Sora's face, his own expression became slightly predatory. Sora froze in place, sick dread twisting in his gut as a sudden thought broke through his fear. Had they planned this? Had they seen him coming and had decided to play with him?

As if in answer, the footsteps following Sora stopped right behind him, and he knew he was trapped. He couldn't see a way out of this. He was cornered and alone with people who hated him for something he hadn't even done.

Despite the urge to avoid looking at them at all, he swallowed and lifted his face to meet Bickson's, who glanced past Sora at the other blitzball players to acknowledge their presence.

"Thought you were running for some reason," Jumal said to Sora with a knowing laugh from just over his shoulder.

Sora's heart gave a sudden jerk as a strong hand pushed him forward, making him nearly bump into Bickson, who grabbed his arm. Sora tensed, managing a small smile that held no cheer. "Um... h-hey guys," he stammered. "Thought there was practice today?"

"There is," Bickson replied.

"Unlike _some_," Graav said, "we don't need to get there early to warm up."

_Unlike some? _...he meant Tidus. A few of the other players were probably edgy with Tidus now because he had defended Sora before and still kept visiting Riku's place.

Sora fought back a rise of indignation, wanting to defend his friend, but he knew that it wasn't a wise thing to do in this situation. He kept his mouth shut and stood stock still, feeling the hair on the back of his neck stand as the other boys moved to surround him, Bickson in front, Graav and Jumal at his sides. Goosebumps crept up his arms, his instincts screaming in alarm, adrenaline now running through him. He was starting to feel so flighty and panicked that he wondered how he'd had even a shred of courage before.

"Look," he said with a shaky voice, holding a hand up in a disarming gesture as he started to retreat. "I don't want any trouble."

Wrong move. Bickson's hand on his arm tightened, and he jerked Sora back, spinning him around to face him. His lips were pulled into an angry frown that petrified Sora.

"Where do you think you're going, _faggot_?"

"It's disgusting that something like you ever played _our_ sport," Graav muttered acidly behind him, and Jumal voiced an agreement.

Despite his fear, Sora met Bickson's gaze with a glare of his own, making it clear that he wanted to say something and was holding himself back.

Bickson's lips pulled into a slight snarl when he noticed Sora's expression. "Hear that? You're not welcome here anymore." He pushed Sora away, who caught himself so he wouldn't fall. "So take your faggot ass somewhere else."

Terrified, Sora still stood his ground, clenching his jaw. His ears and cheeks were burning with anger and shame, and he was aware that the knot in his throat was all that was keeping him from screaming at them or for help. This was wrong—but what could he do?

When he didn't make a move to leave, the next shove came from Graav, and it sent him stumbling from its force. He tried to find his balance again, but this time he tripped over his feet and fell into Jumal. Large hands caught him and firmly held him in place facing the other boys, who zeroed in on him like a pack of wolves. Panicked thoughts rushed through him as the grip on his shoulders became bruising, making him wince, and Bickson and Graav noticed it, exchanging amused looks with each other as they closed the space around Sora.

"Look at him, the faggot's about to wet himself," Graav commented with a short laugh, throwing his hand out and grabbing a fistful of Sora's hair, yanking hard.

A pained cry escaped Sora as half of him was jerked forward, but Jumal kept the rest of him in place, fingertips digging into his bony shoulders. Tears sprang to his eyes, but Graav's hand didn't loosen in his hair, and he used it to pull Sora's head up to face him. Sora bit his lip, squinting through the sharp pain to meet their laughing faces.

And through all of the horrible images that leapt to mind when he thought about what these boys could do to him, a righteous anger rose inside of Sora. Just because he was supposedly gay—just because he was smaller than them, older or not—and just because he was alone and looked like he couldn't defend himself—

They had _no _right to attack an innocent person! God, he couldn't just let them pick on him!

Releasing a cry of indignation, he lifted his foot and slammed his heel into the leg behind him.

"FUCK!"

Jumal's grip on his shoulders immediately lifted, and Sora twisted away from Graav's hand, feeling some of his hair come away with the boy's tightened fingers. Not giving them time to react to his sudden attack, he shoved his way past them and broke into a run, knowing that once he was out of the alley, he'd be safe.

"Shit! The fucking brat!"

"Grab him!"

But Sora was already flying down the narrow street, heart in his throat and panic fueling his retreat. He heard the long strides and heavy footsteps behind him, but they were too late.

He passed the end of the buildings and ran out onto the sidewalk, spinning around to face them now that he was in clear view of the businesses around them. If the blitzball players tried to do anything to him now, Sora would have witnesses to back him up. Even if he was 'gay' or not, he was still a victim.

Bickson and the other two boys hesitated as soon as they were out of the alley, but the hateful looks they wore didn't fade even a fraction. Sora held his breath, meeting Bickson's eyes, trying to ignore his racing pulse and the throbbing pain in his scalp and around his shoulders.

He nearly collapsed with relief when someone stepped in, and it came in the form of a deep, monosyllabic statement.

"Hey."

Gasping, Sora turned to face his savior.

Leon stood just a few meters away, a small shopping bag dangling from one hand, his other hand on his hip. His gray eyes were narrowed at the athletes behind Sora, and his frown was deeper than usual, wrinkling his scar. Even if Leon hadn't had all those muscles, his expression would have been enough to intimidate anyone. He looked so scary that Sora would have leapt on him and kissed him if he hadn't been so close to passing out.

When Leon saw Sora's half scared, half relieved expression, his eyes hardened into a glare at the other boys. In a purposeful, fluid movement, he easily put himself between Bickson's small group and Sora, an unmistakable gesture of protection.

There was a brief stare down, Bickson glaring right back at Leon, but as soon as the older man let out a quiet growl, Sora saw Jumal grab Bickson's shoulder as an indication to get him to back down.

He did. Gesturing rudely at Sora and Leon, Bickson turned away, muttered something to his friends, and the three of them headed down the alleyway, probably going off to blitzball practice now. Jumal was limping slightly from Sora's kick.

When they were out of sight, Sora released a long, grateful sigh, shoulders sagging with relief. "I thought I was done for," he admitted with a nervous laugh, placing a hand over his racing heart.

Leon turned to Sora then, his eyes scanning the boy as if looking for any signs of blood or rough handling, and before Sora could look away in shame, Leon reached out and brushed his fingers just under Sora's eyes. Dampness went with them.

"You were crying?"

Sora's cheeks reddened as he lowered his face, hastily wiping at his eyes. "One of them pulled my hair really hard. But I'm fine."

Leon gave him a long look but didn't say anything to that. He silently handed Sora his shopping bag and started to head off. For once, Sora was grateful that someone didn't have advice to give or any consolation to offer him. He wasn't even sure how to handle the uncertain feelings coiling inside of him, which were only made worse by the fact that everyone, except for himself and Riku, thought he was gay. People _hated_ him now.

He could have been really hurt back there, but he had gotten away. This time, anyway.

As he curled his arms around the shopping bag, holding it to his chest, he followed Leon down the sidewalk, feeling detached from reality. He'd never had so many people care about anything about him, let alone something like his sexuality. It was a frightening change for him to go from being relatively ignored to being stared at and hated for no reason, no matter where he went. He couldn't even go into town by himself now. He didn't want to risk another encounter like that, but he knew that hadn't been the last of it.

He felt the burning pressure of tears and closed his eyes against them, fighting back a sudden surge of emotion. It been growing steadily inside of him for the past few days, each new situation and emotion drawing him closer to its breaking point. He didn't want it to spill over just yet, not here on the street, not with someone to see him.

It was useless trying to clear his mind, but he tried. He bit his lip, swallowing past the ache in his throat, thankful that Leon hadn't looked at him since they had started walking together. He felt so weak. Boys didn't cry...

Leon probably hadn't shed a tear in his life.

They walked in silence for a while, passing through the rest of the business district, with Sora edging closer to Leon every time he felt someone staring their way. He didn't relax until they reached his neighborhood, knowing he'd be home soon.

Surprisingly, it was Leon who struck up the last minute conversation.

"They've been asking for you all morning."

He'd been worrying that Leon would bring up Riku's house, and there it was. Trying to think of what to say to keep from embarrassing himself, Sora hung his head, his stomach twisting. "I was at home," he said quietly, leaving out the details. He was sure Leon would fill in the holes. "But I decided to go for a walk." He was expecting Leon to chastise him or something about avoiding Riku, but that's not what happened.

Leon just nodded, still not looking at him. "I hate having nothing to do. It gets me thinking too much."

It was a simple statement, but it held a truth that Sora knew all too well, especially from what he had been experiencing lately. He couldn't organize his thoughts when he was around everyone else, but when he _was_ alone, his mind wandered too much and he couldn't concentrate on what was really important. Like what he really felt. What he really wanted.

Because Leon understood, Sora felt all the more indebted to the older man, glad he had someone to sympathize with him without even having to go through the sympathizing process.

They finally reached Riku's front walk, but Sora made no move to start following Leon towards the door. He cleared his throat, catching Leon's attention, who turned around to regard him.

Sora held out Leon's shopping bag. "Here. Thanks... for saving me."

Leon lifted an eyebrow, placing a hand on his hip. "Still avoiding Riku?" he asked.

Sora averted his gaze again, not replying, and a few seconds passed in silence before Leon let it drop.

With a sigh, he turned towards Riku's door, dismissing Sora. "Keep the bag. It's for your mom."

At that, Sora raised his gaze, staring after Leon. "My mom?" he asked.

"Medicine," Leon explained. "The lights are on at your place, so she must be there, right?"

Sora glanced across the street at his home, noticing for the first time how the atmosphere had gotten even gloomier. It was only afternoon, but since the sky was so thick with gathering storm clouds, it had gotten pretty dark despite the hour. His mom liked to have lights on when it was gray outside. Feeling guilty that he had forgotten his own mother was sick, he looked into the shopping bag, realizing that _he_ should have been the one to go out and buy medicine, not stoic Leon, who was practically still a stranger.

When Sora looked up to thank Leon again, the front door to Riku's home was already closing, cutting him off. Even though Sora didn't have the courage to follow him and face Riku again so soon, he suddenly felt shut out from that special little world beyond the door.

Leon could easily waltz right back in there and feel at home, but Sora didn't have a purpose there. Out of everyone who went in and came out of Riku's home, he was the only one who didn't know his own place. Riku owned the house, Leon and Cloud and Selphie worked there, Irvine and Cid and Tifa (no, wait, Tifa had left) helped out with the renovations, Sora's mom was setting up to work there as well, and even Kairi and Tidus had their own reasons to visit—Kairi to meet the models, and Tidus to be around people of his sexuality—and both of _them_ were helping out, too.

But Sora?

He had spent most his time there with Riku. He had barely helped around the house, only when his mom had told him to do something. He wasn't Riku's 'boyfriend' anymore, so what was the point of going back there and acting like he belonged?

Worst of all, he wasn't sure if he could be just _friends_ with Riku after what they had gone through together.

His only real connection to the house was his mom, and if Sora wanted to survive the rest of the week, he'd either have to learn how to cook for himself or sneak in everyday to get some grub from her. Which wouldn't work...

_I hate having nothing to do. It gets me thinking too much._

Leon's words echoed inside of him, reminding him that he was chasing his own tail by standing out here sorting through _could_s and _would_s and not doing any _should_s.

For instance: "I should go see him," he murmured, staring sadly at the front door.

But he knew he couldn't. Not yet. First things first.

He crossed the street and went home, small shopping bag swinging at his side. When he got inside, he was not greeted by the smell of something cooking or the sound of his mom cheerfully calling out to him or asking how his day was. Not like how it would have been a week ago.

"Mooooom, I'm home," he said, raising his voice in case she hadn't heard him come in. "You here?"

He actually felt himself relax when he heard her reply. "In here, baby. Ugh, my throat," she croaked, followed by a cough. Two coughs. A string of them. Sora followed the sound of her congested voice as she started whining to herself about pounding headaches and one leaky nostril and her achy bones. He found her in the laundry room, tissues stuck up her nose as she bustled around, sorting through a pile of his clothes. "I came home to bring you some chicken, but you weren't here, so I just decided to kill some time and clean up," she explained somewhat cheerfully, though it was painfully obvious she was forcing it.

"Mom, you look like crap," he said, brows drawing together with concern. When had she had time to cook _chicken_? "Come on, you need to go rest for a while."

"I'm _fine_." She waved a hand before glancing at him, studying his clothes. "You, out of those clothes. Where _were_ you? Those things are so dirty!"

Sora looked down at himself, spotting a few dirty patches on his shorts from where he had been sitting at the sea wall, but it wasn't like dirt and seagull poop had deterred him before. Still, he knew he couldn't argue with his mom when she was in one of her moods.

"Fine, but only if you take some medicine and lay down!" he sighed, shoving the bag at her before toeing off his sandals and starting to unbutton his shorts.

She made an annoyed sound and pulled open the bag. "Medicine is for weak people," she grumbled but relented anyway, moving out of the room towards the kitchen.

Sora dumped his clothes in the hamper, and on his way upstairs to change, he heard his mom gagging at whatever medicine Leon had bought her. Slipping on a clean pair of shorts and another hoodie, he bounded back down the stairs to eat the chicken she had brought for him, which was sitting in a sealed container on the kitchen table, the plastic perspiring inside from the lingering heat of the meal. His stomach rumbled in anticipation as he got out a plate and fork and a glass of juice.

"Did you already eat?" he asked her as she reentered the kitchen, blowing her nose.

"Yah," she managed, voice muffled behind her tissues. "Chicken noodle. Couldn't taste it. Oh, Riku's been looking for you."

Sora hesitated in mid-bite, heart panging with guilt. Despite his stomach's protest, he lowered his fork, worrying his lip. _If he's been looking for me, he obviously wants to see me... _He'd go to see Riku after he ate. "Are you going back over there tonight?" he asked.

"Thought you wanted me to rest, eh?" she replied as she headed back towards the laundry room. "Maybe later."

"You should thank Leon for the medicine," he called after her as she disappeared.

A stuffy giggle came from the hallway. "He's such a big sweetheart under that scowl of his."

Sora smiled and started to eat his lunch, silently congratulating himself on changing the topic from Riku and escaping an awkward conversation with his mother about the other boy. If she knew the whole truth, undoubtedly she'd find a way to make it into his fault that they weren't boyfriends, even if the relationship hadn't been real in the first place. She'd always been an advocate of unusual or outcast things, she being an outcast herself. Sora had lost count of how many twisted stories and strange recipes she had exposed him to over the years.

Ah, recipes!

Sora froze, fork in his mouth, as his heart jerked, the simple cue of recipes reminding him of two days ago when he and Riku had been upstairs in his bedroom, sifting through recipe cards, and Riku had...

_"Nnngh… R-Riku…uuu…"_

And Riku had...

_"Shhh…" _

Blushing, Sora lowered his face, feeling heat stirring inside of him at the mere memory of what had happened. He could still feel Riku's hand on him, Riku's face nuzzle between his shoulder blades, Riku's own erection press against his backside. He could even still hear the soft hush of Riku's voice and the sound of those fingers moving over his skin.

_"Ri… R-Riku…!"_

Yesterday had been so great, too... But Rena had seen to ruining that.

Oh God. What if she hadn't interrupted? How far would they have gone...?

Heart fluttering again, Sora set his fork down and stared at his plate for a few minutes, daydreaming. The house was eerily quiet by the time he even grasped he had zoned out, and he realized his mom must have finally conked out. Maybe it had been the medicine. Sora finished his lunch and got up, closing the plastic container that still had a ton of chicken left in it. He put it in the fridge for later and washed his dishes, already knowing what his next agenda was. He had to see Riku and ask him the questions he should have asked him yesterday or right from the start.

After making sure his mom really was resting, he left home and crossed the street. He was surprised to find that his pulse was racing by the time he made it inside the large house, and he realized he was equally eager and scared to find Riku. He didn't have to look long, or at all, because he found himself walking right into a one-sided debate.

Cid's voice immediately overwhelmed his thoughts, and though it had only been a day since he had been here, it felt like he hadn't heard that gruff man in forever.

"The last fucking room is way the fuck behind and needs a fucking theme and that crazy ass girl wants to come up with it! Now, I ain't no fucking fashion designer like you pansy-ass fucks, but I've seen the way that girl dresses, and if that's any goddamn indication of her sense of style, I say you're knee-deep in some flowery scented shit. I sure as hell am _not_ gonna supervise her if you let her design that last fucking room."

All of this was said loudly and quickly, that last part emphasized by Cid pointing a strong finger into Riku's chest, who hardly seemed to be paying attention. Riku's eyes had met Sora's as soon as he had closed the front door behind him, and though Sora hadn't been expecting to find the other boy that quickly, he knew he couldn't tuck tail and leave now. He gave Riku a small smile just as Cid snapped at Riku to pay attention.

Riku returned his gaze to the blonde man and gave him a mollifying grin. "Look, Cid... Selphie has a unique sense of style. I don't mind."

"Did you hear a fucking _word_ of what I just fucking said?"

Already knowing that this was going to take a few minutes, Sora waited a moment until Riku glanced at him again, and when he had the other boy's attention, he nodded towards the kitchen to tell Riku where he'd be. Riku smiled faintly, almost looking worried, and then went on listening to Cid's colorful expletives.

In the kitchen, which seemed empty without his mom dancing back and forth between the stove and the oven, Sora found Leon, who had donned the apron again and pulled his hair back. Leaning against a counter nearby was Cloud talking on his cell phone, presumably to Sephiroth judging from the tense look on his face. Leon was cooking and ignoring Cloud, and Cloud hardly noticed anyone else's presence as he bit his lip and listened quietly to whoever was on the other line.

"What's going on?" Sora wondered quietly as he approached Leon's side.

"Strife is a moron," came Leon's dry response. "Then again, I was tired of hearing his damn phone."

Sora waited for an explanation and didn't get one.

After a moment, Cloud sighed and snapped his phone shut without saying bye or anything. "He left a long voicemail that time. It seems that Yuffie did tell him that a few of us were together, but she didn't say where."

Leon didn't look up from cutting some onions. "We already knew that," he said. "Sora, peel some potatoes."

Without arguing, wanting to hear what they were talking about, Sora started to dig through the drawers to find a potato peeler.

"Yeah, we knew _that_," Cloud said, sounding grim, and he didn't elaborate. "I need to call him. He's in a fucking business meeting. It'd figure! The one time _I_ want to call _him_ instead of _him_ stalking my damn phone." And as though delivering some righteous blow, he slammed his phone onto the counter. "Fucking bastard."

Silence followed Cloud's angry statement, and Sora quietly began peeling his potatoes, letting the two older men brood in peace. It didn't take long for Sora's mind to begin to wander again, this time focusing on Sephiroth and the modeling spreads he'd seen. Tifa had given him a lot of different magazines, but he'd actually only gone through a few pages.

He couldn't help wondering what was in some of the others with the lewd covers he hadn't touched yet. He knew that Cloud and Riku had modeled for those, but had Leon been a part of them, too? Cloud and Leon had supposedly not met before coming here, which meant they'd never modeled together. It was possible that, even though Leon and Riku had dated, they hadn't modeled together too provocatively.

Oh well, it wasn't like it mattered.

_I'm not jealous._

Sora skinned three potatoes before thinking back to the most recent magazine he'd flipped through, the one of Leon in that chic shirt and leather pants. That had been the same magazine with the picture of Riku modeling without a shirt, showing off the silver crown necklace.

Wait.

The necklace!

Sora's hand immediately flew up to feel for the necklace, nearly stabbing himself with the potato peeler, but his thumping heart and sinking stomach told him what he already knew. It wasn't there. Putting his peeler and half finished potato down, he reached into all of his pockets, smearing potato juice and dirt on his clean clothes, only to remember that they were only clean because his mom had made him change when he had gotten home.

Maybe the necklace had come off when he had been undressing!

Silently panicking, he looked to Leon, dreading just leaving the man without finishing his chore, but—

"Leon—sorry—but I just remembered—I gotta go do something!" he stammered out quickly as he rushed out of the kitchen and into the hallway, dead set on not letting anyone stop him.

Especially Riku, who, unfortunately, was just rounding the corner in front of him.

"Cid, just let Selphie come up with something!" he called behind him, turning just in time to see Sora's worried face. He froze, looking a bit caught himself. "Oh—hey—"

Sora breezed past him, offering a hurried, "Can't talk right now! Sorry!" as he reached the front door, pulled it open, and flew outside.

"Booyaka! I get to design it!" Selphie's voice chased him as the door closed behind him. "Moogle Room, here I come!"

Her crazy antics would usually bring a smile to Sora's face, but he hardly even heard her this time. He had literally felt Riku's stare on him as he had left. As brief as the encounter had been, it had been long enough for Sora to have seen the look on Riku's face as he had brushed him off. Riku's confused expression would probably haunt him all day.

_Sorry, Riku..._

But he couldn't turn around and return to Riku, not with the necklace missing. He wanted to be wearing it, not hiding it in front of the person who had given it to him. If he didn't find it... Well, he didn't know how he'd tell Riku.

The trip across the street seemed to take two steps, he ran so fast. He practically slammed open his front door and sprinted to the laundry room. His clothes were in the wash. Stopping the load, he pulled his soggy shorts and hoodie out, checking all of the pockets, to no avail. Not deterred, he pulled the rest of the clothes out of the washer, checking every fold and shaking them to make sure the necklace wasn't caught in any of them. Nothing. Trying not to freak out, he searched the laundry basket, the floor, behind things—still nothing—and ran upstairs to check his bedroom, determined to find it.

Again, nothing.

Twenty minutes later, Sora flung himself onto his bed and threw his pillow over his head and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to clear his mind. He remembered holding the necklace while he had been on the seawall. He remembered Tidus showing up out of nowhere. He hadn't put the necklace back on, though, had he? Maybe he'd put it in his pockets, but it wasn't in any of his clothes. Where else could it be?

"Craaaap..." he whined, sounding pathetic even to himself. _What am I going to do?_

And as if some cruel irony were dictating his line of thoughts, he suddenly pictured the alleyway in the business sector, remembered the stinging of the blitzball players pulling his hair, and heard their derisive comments all over again. A cold dread settled inside of him as he relived the scene in his mind.

Had he dropped the necklace when they had been pushing him around?

Slowly, feeling numb, he picked himself off his bed.

If his necklace was lying out there on the dirty cobblestone somewhere, he'd never forgive himself if someone who hated Riku picked it up and kept it. He needed to find it. _Now._

Glancing out his window at the still gathering storm clouds, he estimated that it'd be raining by the time he got back, so he slipped off his shorts and pulled on some cargos and sneakers, trying to fight back the growing sense of worry twisting in his stomach. Outside, the air was even cooler than before, the sticky breeze kicking at his hair as he turned back towards the stretch of businesses near the marketplace. The main street was empty this time, and a dank drizzle finally began to fall from the dreary sky, reflecting on his grim mood.

To Sora, that musty, slightly tangy smell of evening showers on the island was always synonymous with the color gray, interchangeable; and he could credit it to gray skies, perhaps, except that he still thought of _gray_ when he noticed that evening shower smell and the rain clouds were orange, or pink, as they sometimes were. Gray was suitable for today with his somber mood. He kept his hands tucked into his hoodie as he hurried down the damp cobblestone, praying he found his necklace in time.

His eyes roamed over the wet ground as he walked in silence, hoping to find a glint of silver amongst the sea of murky brown stone, and each step he took that led him farther from home weighed on his heart. It created a stifling pressure, making him almost scared to breathe for fear that the sound would drown out the tiny ping of rain hitting metal—a hopeful notion, but silly. Desperate.

He would retrace his steps all the way back to the seawall, and if he _still_ didn't find the charm by then... he'd tell Riku. That wasn't his choice starter for a conversation with Riku after such an awkward day of avoiding him, but he knew he'd only make a big fool of himself if he didn't tell Riku right away. He'd always been bad at keeping secrets, especially when it concerned other people, and no secrets were kept secret for long on this island.

No. Walls had ears in other cities, but Sora's island was guilty of having _gulls_. Lots of them. They scavenged for any new piece of juicy news that unsuspecting victims may drop in front of them, and then when one did fall, fat and fresh, they all flocked towards it to claim it, jabbering about it the entire time, spreading the secret into gossip so fast that it was old news by the time the unsuspecting victim even realized he had been robbed of his precious secret.

However... Occasionally, a piece of news or gossip so large would show up that the gulls could spend days just pecking at it, slowly eating away at its shell to expose its vulnerable insides.

Sora knew without a doubt that his so-called relationship with Riku, fake as it was, would remain one of those lingering foods for the cockeyed birds, and they were already ripping away his defenses.

He was eighteen and scared to leave his home because of what other people thought about him. He hated it. He was starting to hate himself, too, because of it, because of his indecisiveness, because of his stupid insecurities and fears.

The drizzle gave way to a light shower, wetting his clothes when they had only been damp before. He squished through the street, listening to the familiar sounds of soft rain on the cobblestone, wishing it were as soothing of a sound as it had been just over a week ago. It almost seemed to taunt him now, telling him he was more likely to find a cold there on the street than his necklace.

Then again, what did _it_ know.

In a sudden fit of frustration, Sora kicked at the ground, sighing, and finally lifted his gaze from his searching. He was in the business sector now. With his slow pace, he must have taken at least fifteen minutes to get there. He had no way of telling. Scanning the ground for that hopeful glint of silver, Sora headed towards the alleyway between stores where Bickson and his buddies had cornered him earlier that day. Was it possible for it to feel like only an hour ago, yet simultaneously like a lifetime? Maybe he was just being stupid.

Sora paused at the mouth of the alley, squinting into the shadows that had fallen into it under the darkened sky. He couldn't tell if anything was on the ground. Sniffing past the water dripping from the tip of his nose, Sora ducked his head, watching the area in front of his feet for his necklace as he moved forward, almost certain he'd find it lying there, dropped sometime when Jumal or Graav or Bickson had pushed him.

But it wasn't. He passed through the alleyway, finding nothing.

"Damn," he muttered, and the quiet sound of his voice was drowned even under the shush of the hardening rain. He blinked past water, staring off in the direction of the seawall, his last destination. It had to be there.

Well, there was only one way to find out. As he retraced his steps, on his way he passed by the familiar line of palm trees and noticed how violent the rustle of the palm fronds were, their green fingers waving and slapping at one another in the rising wind. Coupled with the hissing rain, the once soothing sound was unsettling instead. The dark sky gave him no indication of what time it really was.

He hugged himself against the elements and carried on, kicking at the loose gravel that made up the beginning of the old dock and sea wall area. The spot where he had been sitting earlier was just at the edge of the wall overlooking the murky part of the bay. The smell of salt and rancid fish greeted him as he approached, still skimming the ground. Despite his hopes, there was no happy glint of silver against the gray-brown rocks. He searched for a few minutes before giving up.

It was gone. He could only hope that it would turn up somewhere, but that was unlikely. Not many people had seen him wearing it in the first place.

Now he had to tell Riku.

As he turned back towards home, he shivered and rubbed his arms, glancing up at the sky before hurrying off. Voices from the street caught his attention, and he felt that now familiar flash of fear when he saw who was out of blitzball practice. Before any of the athletes could see him, he ducked behind one of the thicker palm trees to hide. There were five guys, the Bickson trio among them, and Sora wasn't about to put himself in front of them again. They might have disliked him before, but after what had happened earlier that day, they were probably out for his blood now.

He waited for their voices to fade into the distance before he risked moving from his hiding spot. If it was already past blitzball practice, more time had passed than he had realized. The sun would be going down soon somewhere beyond those thick storm clouds.

Tucking his hands into his hoodie, he moved onto the street. Not seeing any blitzball players around anymore, he headed to his street, trying to think about what he'd say to Riku when he got there. Then he couldn't help wondering if Riku would get mad. He kept remembering how horrible the fight had been between Riku and his aunt, how he'd never even imagined Riku so angry before, how it had actually scared him. It wasn't likely that Riku would get _that_ mad, but it lingered in his mind. He didn't know Riku as well as he had thought.

That didn't bother him as much as the fact that, well, Riku always seemed to know what to expect out of _him_, like Sora could never do anything to surprise Riku because he'd already know it was coming. It most likely wasn't true, but Sora couldn't help feeling that way.

By the time he reached Riku's front walk, anxiety was clawing at his gut, and he felt miserable. He had come up with what to say to Riku, at least, and that is what he ran through his head over and over as he opened the door and stepped into the house.

Everyone seemed to be moving at a fast, carefree pace, totally unaffected by the weather outside. He heard a few people in the kitchen—his mom, up from her nap, and Irvine—most likely Seiya trying to take over cooking while Irvine tried to keep up with her instructions. He heard Cloud's voice down a hallway, and he was yelling at someone but no one was yelling back. He was probably on his cell phone again. Selphie was with Cid in the living room, and she was animatedly drawing something while Cid overlooked the progress, engrossed. Well, _their_ situation seemed to have improved since Sora had last been here. Leon was missing, though. He headed for the kitchen, hoping to find out for sure where Riku was.

Both Irvine and Seiya looked up when Sora entered the room. Whether or not he had a literal doom cloud hovering around him, both of them seemed to pick up on his mood immediately. He watched as they simultaneously gave him the kind of look people give each other when they know something terrible has just happened, like a puppy getting eaten by a twenty-pound rat. Okay, maybe not that dramatic, but a depressed Sora was just as bizarre in his own mind.

"Sora, baby, what's wrong?" was the first thing out of his mom's mouth. She was still congested and sounded like she was dying. He was just surprised she wasn't commenting on his dripping clothes.

Irvine cut in before he could reply, though. "Riku's upstairs moping," he said, stirring something in a saucepan that smelled divine. "He was tryin' to act casual earlier, but then he just snapped at all of us and went to go hide."

"Sounds to me like he's frustrated," Seiya mused, looking pointedly at Sora as if it were his fault.

As Irvine chuckled knowingly at her comment, Sora turned without a word and left the kitchen, heading for the stairs and tracking water the entire way. Riku? Frustrated? Well, he did have a reason to be, after what had happened with his aunt. Maybe it was Sora's fault, too, for avoiding him all day.

Leon was coming down the stairs as he started to go up, and neither of them said a word as they passed one another. Leon only gave him a pensive look like he was trying to figure something out about him. Sora brushed the encounter off and entered the upstairs hallway. Breathing deep, he steeled himself and approached Riku's door, feeling his heart quicken as he drew closer. He swallowed and reached out to knock softly.

Riku's voice came a moment later, sounding impatient and like it was in the direction of his bed.

"Go away."

"It's Sora," he tried, feeling pathetic.

But it worked. After a second of silence, Riku spoke again, this time hesitant. "...come in."

Sora opened the door and slipped into the room, closing it behind him. Riku _was_ in his bed, though he was getting out of it now that Sora was there. His silver hair was messy, so Sora assumed he must have been curled up against his pillows before the knock on the door.

"Hey," Riku said, drawing a hand through his hair as he lifted his gaze to Sora's.

When Sora met his eyes, every last word of his necklace confession escaped him. Now that he was here, had Riku's full attention, and there were no interruptions, he felt the pressure. He hesitated and tried to find at least something intelligent, some sort of scrap of what he'd planned to say, and Riku just watched him with a puzzled expression.

"Umm..."

Sora stared, searching for words, feeling Riku's gaze analyze him, feeling Riku's growing impatience, feeling Riku's confusion and worry and slight hope. Sora tried not to fidget as he fought to get back on track. Why had he come here? What were they going to talk about? Desperate, Sora glanced around the room, breaking eye-contact with Riku. He spotted Riku's desk and the memory came back to him in a rush, of Riku's words as he had handed over the gorgeous black box and revealed the silver treasure inside.

Crap! The necklace!

Sora abandoned whatever plan he'd had before and decided to just wing it. He sucked in a sharp breath and turned back to Riku, who looked like he was expecting a proposal or the end of the world.

"Ilostyournecklace!"

There. He had said it.

Biting his lip, he forced himself to keep watching Riku, waiting for the reaction, not even sure of what to expect.

In the end, it seemed like even Riku didn't know what to do. He stared at Sora for a long moment, a blank kind of look on his face, not quite confused but not quite understanding either. Then, as if deciphering Sora's words, his expression grew guarded, and he gave a simple nod.

"It's okay."

It didn't _sound_ or _look _okay. Sora didn't like it when Riku closed up on him.

Taking a step forward, Sora tried again. "I'm really sorry, Riku... I-I looked everywhere. That's what I was doi—"

"It's _okay_, Sora," Riku repeated, again in a tone that Sora didn't trust.

This time Sora waited, studying Riku for a few seconds before venturing again. "You're mad, aren't you...?"

Riku's lips pulled into an unhappy line. "No, I'm not mad," he said, and he did sound upset. "I'm just..." But he stopped himself as if realizing how he sounded. He lowered his eyes, expression softening. "Sorry. It's been a long week."

_The longest week of my life_, Sora agreed silently, worrying his lip again. "I'm... really sorry, Riku," he said. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so meek. "I'll make it up to you. I swear."

Riku didn't seem interested, though. His face still lowered, he made no sign of replying to Sora or even acknowledging his presence again. Sora waited, hands curling into his wet hoodie, twisting, fidgeting as apprehension and fear squeezed inside of him. It hurt. Somehow, he knew Riku wasn't being like this because of the necklace. He didn't know what it was, though, and it hurt that Riku wouldn't say anything. It hurt that they couldn't even talk anymore. Had things fallen apart just like that?

He didn't understand this. He didn't understand Riku. He...

He didn't understand his own feelings, either, but he was sure of one thing, and that was that he wanted to hold something or be held. He wanted to tell Riku what had happened that day, that he'd had a shitty day, that he'd almost gotten seriously hurt by people who hated him now, that he was tired and frustrated from who-knows-what and he just wanted to go back to a few days ago when things were nervous but at least in the good way. He hated _this_ kind of anxiety. He could handle the other kind.

But Riku didn't look at him again.

Though he had stopped believing in his mother's stories years ago and had never thought that there were moments in them that he would be able to relate to his own life, he realized that this was one of those moments. When the heart cries.

He turned and left without a word, curling a hand over his chest, feeling both betrayed by Riku and guilty for not being any better than him. He could have said something more, something to encourage Riku maybe. But Riku could have said something, too.

There was a lot that both of them weren't saying.

Maybe it was too soon. He'd give Riku the night to cool off and then try again tomorrow. He still had so many questions to ask and no way to approach them without being too direct.

_Tomorrow. Tomorrow sounds good. _

He silently slipped out of the house without anyone noticing, leaving the busy people with their busy tasks to themselves, returning to his own home. His quiet home. His dull, empty home.

What Sora didn't know was that Riku, back in his room with his eyes trained to the floor, felt almost the exact same way. He was articulate with words any other time except when it concerned being open with Sora, and he always spent those long lapses of silence running through dozens of meaningful sentences in his head, never finding the right one to say out loud. Sora probably thought he was mad at him. Then again, he had thought Sora had been avoiding him all day, too.

Sighing, Riku squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed at his temples, fighting back a frustrated growl.

That was when he heard the stomping up the stairs and the panicked run to his room. He looked up just as Cloud burst into his room, cell phone in hand—and Riku could have sworn that he had never seen Cloud show that amount of emotion for anything, so he was on his feet before Cloud could even get a word out.

"What the fuck is going on?" he asked, eyeing Cloud's cell phone.

"There's a problem," Cloud replied, closing the phone and looking partially reluctant to say anything at all.

"And that is...?"

"Seph," he said, paused, and grimaced as if dreading this. "Cid answered my phone one of the times and talked to Seph and..." His brows knitted together as he looked directly at Riku.

"_And_...?" Riku tried again. But he already knew what he was going to say. Right before Cloud spoke again, Riku practically heard the sound of his dreams being crushed under the heel of his boss's boot.

"Riku, Cid told him where we are," Cloud said grimly. "Sephiroth is on his way here."

-o-o-

* * *

Yegh, transition chapter. It'll pick up again, I swear. Still, I hope it was still enjoyable.

Thanks for all the feedback!


	12. Ch 12: Lose the Façade

_Author's Notes:_

Based on some _Chain of Memories_ inspiration about a year ago, I added some other characters into my chapter planning—planned before KH2, so I'm doing my best to adjust their personalities now that more of their characters have been revealed. I won't say who they are so you can be surprised. Also, I find it increasingly amusing that a lot of the Final Fantasy characters in this story were planned into the plot years ago when I _started_ the story, and a bunch of them wound up in KH2. Hurr hurr.

Anywho, enjoy!

* * *

_**  
Chapter Twelve: Lose the Façade**_

-o-o-

Sora woke the next morning to the sound of shouts from across the street. He fell out of bed and pulled himself to his window to see what was going on. It was past dawn, but the day was grim because of the rain clouds still lingering from last night's storm. Due to the wet conditions, he was surprised to see that Cid, Leon, and Cloud were outside Riku's house working. The two models were on the porch overhang, holding up a large, heavy looking sign against the front of the house while Cid barked at them to move it left, move it down, hold it steady, and the like.

"Calm Bounty," Sora murmured to himself, reading the sign. That must have been the name they had come up with for the boarding house, but why were they putting the sign up now? He had estimated a few more weeks before the place would have been presentable enough for an opening.

Well, he was going over there later. He'd ask then.

Satisfied, he climbed back into bed for a few more hours of sleep. He needed it for what he had planned today.

-o-o-

"Have no fear, Selphie's here!"

The energetic voice reverberated throughout the busy house, blending with the other music in the air—Seiya's congested singing and the clatter of pots and sizzling of food in the kitchen, the shouts of Cid and the scuffle of heavy shoes against the roofing outside, the whine of the vacuum cleaner and Irvine's occasional run into furniture with it, and Riku's hurried footsteps as he zipped through the hall, grabbed Selphie's arm, and began dragging her towards the living room.

"Selphie! Thank God you're here," he got out in a rush, ignoring her confused expression. "We need all the help we can get right now. I would have sent someone to get you, but we've all been tied up since last night."

Selphie's face lit up as if she suspected a new challenge for her to tackle. "Ohh, what'll it be today? What's the rush? Someone's birthday? I can make a big cake in the shape of a big pink heart if someone's upset!"

Riku let go of her as they entered the living room where bags upon bags of interior design purchases sat. He pointed to them. "It's not as exciting as you're thinking. We have approximately four hours before our first customer gets here, and this place has to be _perfect_."

"First customer?" she asked. "I thought it was going to be another two weeks at least before you opened up?"

"Believe me, I wish we had the luxury of time," Riku replied gloomily. "Sephiroth doesn't wait for anyone, even if he expects the impossible from people. That includes doing two weeks' worth of work in one night—which is down to four hours now."

Her eyes got a mischievous gleam to them when the name Sephiroth was mentioned. "He's coming!" she cheered, hopping once and clapping her hands together. "Wow! I can't wait! Sephiroth!"

"That's right—you _can't_ wait. We need to get to work," Riku emphasized, definitely not feeling as enthusiastic as some of the others were about this. Seiya and Irvine had taken the news all too well and had gotten right to work. Cid and Squall hadn't given a shit. It seemed like only Cloud and himself were concerned about Sephiroth's arrival.

Selphie giggled and started to dig through the bags. "So how are we going to do the impossible, Oh Mr. Boss Sir Riku?"

Thankfully, Riku had thought this over. "I learned a trick or two from modeling," he said. "Not everything is what it seems in the pictures. When pants don't fit right on a model, they get pinned into perfection. Just like that, we're going to mask this place's imperfections with things that seem nice. They won't be here forever. Just enough for Sephiroth's stay."

"Ohhh," she said, giving him a sidelong look, pausing in the middle of rummaging through one of the larger bags. "So that's why none of this stuff is, like, in the plans me and Mr. Grouchy Highwind came up with."

"Yeah, I had Cloud and Seiya, who insisted, by the way—I had them do some last second shopping last night on the island over. None of this stuff is high class or anything, but it has a homey touch, and Cloud insisted that it was all close to Sephiroth's style."

Selphie pulled out a stack of folded fluffy black towels, and her eyebrows rose. "Monochrome?"

Riku gave a crooked grin. "Not completely. He does like his silvers and blacks though," he replied. "He'll be staying in the Black Room, so that's where you'll be focusing your interior design skills. He's bringing a small retinue, but I'm more worried about _him_."

Giving an animated nod, she lifted a hand to salute. "Yes, Sir!"

For the first time since the news yesterday, Riku relaxed a little, glad that he had so many people eager to help. "Thanks. All of the stuff should be here. If it's not, I'll make some angry phone calls to the delivery people. We'll improvise if it comes down to it." He took a moment to eye the numerous bags lying about. "I'd get someone to help you, but we don't have any extra hands."

Giggling again, Selphie put her hands on her hips. "Now, now, Sir Riku! I'm sure Kairi and Tidus will come running when I tell them who's coming. What about Sora? He'd come, too! Hear anything from him?"

Riku avoided her gaze as she leaned forward to study his face. He slipped a hand through his hair and pretended to look interested in the bag of packaged curtains in front of him. "Not since yesterday."

A part of him wanted to say more, but he was hesitant about anyone else knowing the truth behind their relationship. He still had that shred of hope that Sora would come to him for real. All of those reactions he'd gotten from Sora when they had touched had been real enough. The body doesn't lie. He knew from experience. He knew that Sora was at least attracted to him, but he also knew that sometimes it took time to understand one's own feelings. Riku well remembered his first encounter with another guy and how he had been so confused and scared to accept that part of himself. He'd known most of his life that he'd been attracted to men, but he had refused to accept it until that chance encounter in high school...

_Stop while you're ahead, Riku_, he warned himself, not wanting to go any deeper into his thoughts, knowing exactly where they'd lead him. Pushing his past aside, Riku returned his gaze to Selphie, who was giving him a knowing grin.

"Sir Riku went into his own little world, didn't he?" she said in a teasing tone. "Someone's been with Mr. Kitty too much! He likes to get all quiet and broody too, hee. Brooding experts!"

Unable to hide a smile at that, Riku gave a soft laugh and mussed her hair. "Here's your first big chance to show us what you're made of, Miss Tilmitt. I have to go see if Cid is killing my other employees now."

"Roger!" she chirped, starting to grab bags. "Leave it to me!"

Riku gave a mock salute in return and did an about face towards the door. Stressed as he was, Selphie's enthusiasm reassured him, and he felt a little of the weight lift off his shoulders as he walked away from her, hearing the crinkling of shopping bags and her happy hum as she got to work. Ever since Cloud had informed him of Sephiroth's sudden traveling escapade, Riku had been working nonstop. Even though he hadn't slept a wink or eaten a thing since, he was wired and on edge, and the fact that he didn't know much about Sephiroth's intentions worried him.

All he knew was that Sephiroth hadn't been able to get _real _time off out of his schedule and had decided to come under the pretense of business, claiming that he was scouting for new talent or something equally lame. He was bringing three people with him, though Cloud hadn't been told details. Riku assumed that they were going to be some sort of advisor or journalist, a baggage boy, and a photographer. That's who it usually was.

And he hoped beyond hopes that it wouldn't be the photographer he least wanted to see these days.

Again forcing himself out of those thoughts, Riku focused on Sephiroth instead.

Riku wasn't ready for this. He wasn't worried that Sephiroth would cause problems, no, or do something drastic. Sephiroth didn't work that way. What Riku was worried about was Sephiroth's possessiveness. He had to be coming for Cloud. Even though Cloud had gone on extended leave and had agreed to work for Riku for the summer, it was hard to stand up to Sephiroth. And the man was very... persuasive.

Riku didn't have to look at Cloud to know he was as worried as he was about Sephiroth's knowledge of their whereabouts. It was going to be a tough visit.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, he pulled open the front door. The air was cool and smelled a little musty from last night's rain. Cid began shouting again, but Riku ignored the scene for a moment, his eyes drawn to Sora's home, to Sora's bedroom window, to where he knew the other boy was sleeping soundly in his bed.

A few thoughts crossed his mind then, like—Did Sora know about Sephiroth yet? Why had he run out so quickly yesterday? Had he really lost the necklace? Was their friendship going to stay this awkward, or... was he just being overly hopeful that Sora would ever want to hang out or laugh with him again? He was probably deep asleep, sprawled out on his bed, clutching a pillow and snoring.

A small smile pulled at his lips as he pictured Sora, and he felt a little better.

"Hold it fucking _still_!" Cid snapped, and Riku was pulled out of his thoughts again, knowing he couldn't afford to keep zoning out like that.

Four hours left, and time wouldn't stand still for his reveries. Back to work.

-o-o-

Later when Sora ventured outside, the sun was hanging in the sky, peeking around the gray clouds that had been hiding it for days. Sora welcomed its brightness with a smile. This Sunday morning, he had a mission. After the encounter yesterday, he was determined to play it safe in town, and since blitzball practice was in the late afternoon on weekends, he figured he'd be relatively safe while all of his so-called enemies were at home with their families, resting. Sundays were quiet days on the island. And as he had expected, The Parasol was almost deserted when he approached the restaurant without running into anyone unpleasant.

Two tables were occupied outside, and though a handful of people did eye him as he passed through the open door, he felt calm, completely in control, totally unworried. He was even smiling when he pulled open the inner door and entered the cool interior of the restaurant.

Today was going to be good, he felt.

Yuna greeted him at the door, and he gave her a cheerful look while also scanning her for any discomfort. Her smile didn't falter, though, as she recognized him. She had seemed okay two days ago while waitressing for Riku and himself, but he wanted to make sure it stayed that way. Her sky blue apron was ironed and pristine, and now that he looked, it nicely accented the curves of her body. Riku had nicer hips though.

That was when Sora realized that he couldn't remember the last time he had actually _looked_ at a girl—or boy—with such a critical eye. Had he ever? Not before Riku had shown up...

"Just one?" she asked, lifting a menu.

Sora blinked out of his thoughts and shook his head, flashing her a grin. "Nah, I'm actually here to talk to Aerith. She around?"

"Sure," she replied, but he noticed that she didn't put the menu down. She nodded towards the left line of tables, and her smile spread almost knowingly. "This way."

As she turned and he followed after her, he couldn't help wondering what that look had meant. He had come to apologize about the other day, but he was being treated almost _better_ than usual. When Yuna led him to an empty booth, he was confused, but she ushered him into the seat and put the menu in front of him before he could protest. Yuna didn't keep him guessing for long, thankfully, and he relaxed when she laughed at his expression.

"Relax, Sora. Miss Gainsborough told me to seat you if you came by," she said as she leaned over the table, flipping the menu open for him. "I'll get her in a sec. You pick something out. It's on the house."

Sora opened his mouth again to protest, but Yuna pressed a finger to his lips, her green and blue eyes narrowed in almost playful challenge.

"No buts. Miss Gainsborough's orders. You want Paopu Delight, right?"

"Uh... sure," he replied hesitantly.

"Alrighty. I'll be right back."

And with that, she pulled away and left him to his menu. Confused thoughts whirled through his mind as he stared down at the simple print, not quite reading or thinking about his food even though he should have been. He _was_ hungry. But what was up with this royal treatment? He'd always been treated sweetly here, but this was weirding him out.

When Aerith did show up, she slid into the opposite seat of the booth as if she were meeting with a family member or an important patron, not just Sora. She offered a pleasant smile to assuage the bewildered look on his face. Yuna was right behind her, setting down his frosty paopu-yellow drink, a tiny parasol sticking out over the edge.

"There you go," she said. "Ready to order?"

Perplexed, Sora looked to Aerith for an explanation, but the woman merely nodded, folding her arms delicately on the tabletop. Clearing his throat, Sora glanced down at the menu again, even though he had it practically memorized over the years. "Um... what I usually get, I guess," he said.

"Number six," Aerith informed Yuna, and the girls exchanged nods before Yuna turned and left, but not before she flashed Sora another happy smile. When she was gone, Aerith rested her eyes back on Sora. "I had a feeling I would be seeing you again this soon, Sora."

He managed a sheepish grin, feeling awkward all of a sudden. "I just wanted to apologize... for the other day. If we caused a lot of problems or broke anything, I mean," he was quick to explain. "I didn't want to leave you guys thinking we were jerks."

Aerith's brows drew together, her lips spreading into an amused but understanding expression. "Sora..."

He waved his hands, trying to interrupt any lecture before it came at him, which was what he was expecting. "I didn't come to make excuses or anything! Really. And if you want damage payment, I'm sure I can hide out in the back and do dishes for a year or something."

At this, Aerith lifted a hand to her mouth, hiding a giggle, and its sweet tone made him sink back in his seat, embarrassed. She gracefully held up her other hand to stop him from speaking again, and he waited for her.

"Sora, it's already been paid for," she said, her eyes smiling. "Several times over."

Sora stared, not quite understanding for a second. Already paid? By who? Riku? When had he had the time?

Aerith reached out, resting her palm over the back of Sora's hand. "Riku came in person that same night and gave a... _sizeable_ check. Nothing had even been damaged, but he had insisted we keep the money," she explained calmly. "And he explained the entire situation."

Sora worked his mouth for a moment, trying to find something to say, but his mind was too busy processing what she had just told him. Especially that last part. "What... _entire_ situation?" he got out at last.

"Oh, about how Gray's gang used to pick on you two when you were younger," she said, "and he was expecting it to get worse now that you are standing out so much." She paused, retracting her hand slowly, giving him an admiring look. "You know, it's been a while since anything this controversial has happened around these parts. You know how old fashioned it is here."

Nodding, Sora lowered his gaze, studying his perspiring glass. The thick yellow slushy was looking delicious, but for some reason he didn't want to dig into it while Aerith was here. "The only controversial thing I remember is my mom," he admitted.

Aerith softly laughed, also nodding. "Yes, she certainly has a few traits that are considered oddities here. But, Sora, she is by no means the first," she pointed out. "The mayor himself did not have a father, believe it or not. I also overheard a few people discussing the last gay couple to live here—two women—though they did not stay here long. I am sure you and Riku will not be the last, either." Then she paused, leaning across the table and lowering her voice. "In fact, I have it on good word that there are quite a few closet homosexuals here, but they are scared to be open, and there are those who admire what you and Riku are trying."

Sora's cheeks grew pink as he listened to Aerith. "What we're trying?" he asked.

"An open relationship," she said. "Despite the environment and what the others say. It's very brave."

_Brave?_ Sora couldn't help wondering. _I'm terrified. But I can't tell her that... Or what had happened yesterday._

But he must have made a skeptical expression because her smile faded into a look of sympathy. "You're not alone in this, Sora. There are those of us who openly support your relationship."

Relationship. _What relationship? _Sora reminded himself, his stomach sinking. _It wasn't real. _

But then, like a punch to the gut, he realized why it bothered him so much that everyone kept thinking they were together for real. It had been there all along, inching its way into the open, but he hadn't been able to admit it to himself until right then.

He _did_ want to be with Riku. Not just stay with him. Not just be around him. He wanted to be _with_ Riku, like Riku seemed to want with him. He wanted to be _like_ Riku, as open as Riku, as confident as Riku, as full of love as Riku. He wanted to return what Riku had been trying to give him.

The other night during the improv stories when he had met Riku's eyes and had suddenly _known _how Riku had felt about him—he wanted to know for himself too. It wasn't just about touching and kissing each other or even holding hands in public. All of that might have helped prepare him for _acting_ _out_ a relationship, but actually being in a relationship? That was different. Maybe a week ago he had given up on any form of intimate relationships, but now that he knew what it felt like to actually be _liked_, he wanted to give it back. Somehow. That was the next step.

The crinkling of tissue paper made him look up. Yuna carefully slid a plastic basket of warm food in front of him, a bottle of ketchup right after it. As the smell of fried fish and potatoes reached him, his stomach gave a discontent growl loud enough for the two girls to hear.

Laughing, Yuna placed his rolled silverware in front of him. "There you go. Fish and chips the way Sora likes it, or so Shera said."

Aerith began to slide out of the booth. "Eat it all, Sora. You're losing weight," she said with an admonishing yet motherly look that could almost rival Seiya's. "And don't be such a stranger. Before Friday, I hadn't seen you around in weeks." As she rose, he followed her with his eyes, watching as she smoothed her cute pink dress out, evening her apron over it. When she was done, she gave him another bright smile, clasping her hands in front of herself. "Well?"

With both of the women waiting for his response, he bit his lip and thought through everything Aerith had told him.

He had been planning on going to Riku to talk today, but now he wasn't sure what exactly to say. There was too much he couldn't quite put into words or explain or express right. And if he messed up, he couldn't help thinking that Riku would misunderstand him again.

_Sora, why can't you be articulate?_ he sighed to himself. He needed to find someone who was good with this kind of thing. Someone who wasn't Riku, anyway, and could help him.

With that goal in mind, he once again found that confidence he had had when he had first stepped into the restaurant this morning. He was going to get through this, and he was going to do it without any more stupid misunderstandings. Aerith was right. He wasn't alone in this. Riku was just as insecure as he was. And they had people who supported them.

Encouraged, he lifted his face to meet their smiles, giving them one of his upbeat grins. "Deal," he said, and he meant it.

No more hiding.

-o-o-

When he stepped off the ferry, there was a brief but collective silence from his entourage.

Green eyes surveyed the modest but friendly looking crowd of the nearby fish market, the palm trees swaying to the gentle sea breeze, the cozy little homes and the small businesses lining the simple cobblestone streets, and how there was a definite but welcome lack of automobiles and tall buildings and people wandering around with cell phones stuck to their ears. It was quiet here. It was small and humble and...

"Is that all there is to it?" came the voice beside him. "Where's the rest?"

A slow but pleased smirk tugging at his lips, Sephiroth calmly pulled his sunglasses off and lifted his face, breathing deeply, taking in the smell of salt and fish and old wood. Then, as he tucked one of his bangs back, he turned towards the companion at his side, giving him an amused look.

"Too small for your city tastes, Axel?" he asked smoothly.

The man lifted a red eyebrow and adjusted the expensive camera bag hanging from his shoulder. "Nah, I was just expecting something more impressive, since this black hole sucked in all of your favorites, Seph. Though the seascape shots I got on the ferry are worth it." Then, as if remembering something, he turned and raised his voice. "Rai, hurry up and get that equipment packed! And be careful with it!"

"It's heavy, ya know?!"

Then, from inside their rental where the last member of their group was waiting in the driver's seat:

"IDIOT."

Axel grimaced and shook his head, but his grin made it obvious he wasn't mad. "I don't know how you put up with them."

Slipping his sunglasses back on, Sephiroth replied with a short, "I don't," and turned towards their rental, lifting a hand to signal for them to hurry up or else. "Let's get going."

Laughing, Axel fell into stride next to him, dragging a hand through what locks of his red hair had fallen free from his hair tie. "Do we even know where we're going?" he asked.

And at that, Sephiroth glanced at him, and his smirk grew. "I'm sure it won't be hard to find," he replied just as Raijin finished stuffing Axel's equipment into the back of the sleek black Ballad.°

Axel pulled open the passenger door for his boss and rested his elbows on the open window edge as Sephiroth settled into the leather seat. "I know you're here for you-know-who, but what happens if we don't find anything spread-worthy while we're here?"

"Yo, Fuu, it's all good to go, ya know!" Raijin announced as he clambered into the backseat, purposely slapping the back of the driver's chair with his large hand.

The woman shot him a blasé look as she calmly reached around the seat to sock him in the arm. And as he yelped and rubbed at the sore spot, she glanced at Sephiroth, only one of her eyes visible under her silver bangs. "READY."

Sephiroth acknowledged them with a nod before returning his attention to his photographer, only moving his eyes to give the other man a challenging (and subtly playful) look from the side of his gray-tinted sunglasses. "Are you doubting my expertise, Axel?" he coolly asked. "I always find something."

Pulling away from the door, Axel held up his hands in mock surrender before laughing. "Not at all, sir. Forgot who I was talking to for a sec there."

"Good," Sephiroth replied with a hint of amusement. "Now get in before I make you walk."

-o-o-

By the time Sora had finished visiting with Aerith at her restaurant, it was past noon and the people on the ferry were chattering about another car making its way across the water just an hour ago. Without really thinking about it, Sora wrote it off as another big deliver or technician or something on its way to Riku's place. He'd find out when he got there, anyway, because that's where he was headed next.

He wasn't expecting to run into anyone before he got there, but as usual, as he was passing through the business district, he heard Kairi call out to him in a rushed voice, and he politely turned and waited for her to catch up to him.

"Oh my God, Sora!" she cried, her blue eyes wide and excited. She immediately latched onto his arm and started dragging him with her in the direction he had been heading towards. "You won't _believe_ who showed up this morning!"

Remembering what he had told her yesterday about Riku and him not being together, he tensed up but didn't pull away from her, wondering if she had actually told anyone. If she had, he hadn't heard word of it yet. Still, for the life of him, he couldn't recall her ever being this excited before. "Um...?" he tried, sounding confused.

"Sephiroth!" she practically squealed, and Sora felt his breath hitch at the sound of the man's name.

Sephiroth?

_Sephiroth_ had shown up?

His astonished expression encouraged Kairi into divulging more information. "Selphie called me this morning and told me that if I helped her, she'd get me Sephiroth's autograph. I didn't really question it, but I agreed and went over to Riku's house. We spent like four and a half hours just decorating rooms, and then someone rang the doorbell, and, like, the entire household went into a panic! People were straightening clothes, hair, telling each other to hush up, and almost everyone stood around in the hallway as Riku pulled open the door, and—" Here Kairi raised her voice, a grin spreading over her face as she lifted her hands to gesture, "OH MY GOD, Sephiroth was standing _right there_, looking _gorgeous_! Even more gorgeous than in the magazines!"

Sora was still gaping, though by now they had started walking a lot faster. Kairi continued in a thrilled fashion.

"He's so _tall_, Sora! Taller than Mr. Leonhart! And he's wearing this super expensive-looking white shirt that opens up and shows like half of his chest, and ohmyGod, he has the _sexiest_ collar bone, I swear! And his pants! They look like they cost more than this _island_! They're so pretty and they're not too tight but they totally show off his beautiful, _beautiful _hips."

She was gripping Sora's arm as if he would disappear or something, and she was talking to him like he was one of her girl friends or was in love with Sephiroth too. Was it because she thought he really liked guys too? She hardly seemed to notice she had his arm in a viselike grip.

"And you _have _to hear his voice—it's so deep and sexy and, and..." she said, trailing off. Sora watched as a dreamy smile pulled across her lips. "...and he's just so perfect, Sora. When I introduced myself as the mayor's daughter, he kissed my hand! I'm never going to wash it. I swear I almost passed out on the spot. I could hardly talk, and I'm sure I was blushing like an idiot," she continued with a giggle, glancing at Sora. "After introductions were made, your mom told me to go find you. Where were you, anyway?"

It took Sora a moment to realize she had stopped her excited banter to ask him a question. "Oh! Um..." He gave a small grin. "The Parasol. Aerith insisted on stuffing my face." And, out of curiosity, he had to ask. "What'd my mom think of... Sephiroth?"

Kairi's cheeks reddened a little. "Sephiroth went sweet on the three of us—us girls, I mean. I think your mom and Selphie were trying as hard as I was not to make a bad impression! We were all starry-eyed, I swear. Sephiroth had started to pull Riku and Mr. Strife aside to talk to them, though, when I had left..."

Sora found himself growing serious at the sound of that last statement. That's right. Sephiroth's arrival could mean the end of Riku's little boarding house dream. Even if he only took Cloud back to Atropos, things wouldn't be the same.

By the time he and Kairi reached the front walk of the newly named Calm Bounty, Sora realized he was nervous. As intrigued as he was with Sephiroth, the man who looked like an older Riku, the photographer-turned-entrepreneur who owned a gazillion magazines, the model who had corrupted Riku and practically owned Cloud... Sora was terrified of meeting him.

As the door clicked shut behind them, Kairi leaned in to whisper to Sora. "I'm going to go find Selphie, okay? See you around."

He nodded as she flashed him a smile and headed up the stairs. Sora glanced around at the interior of the house, which looked like it had gone through one of those reality TV makeovers in under twenty-four hours or like it could have been pulled right out of a magazine. The delicious smell of food in the kitchen made it feel more like the house he was used to visiting, but it was still surreal.

Sora took a deep breath and decided to try looking in the kitchen first. He had come here to find Riku, not meet Sephiroth. Riku, not Sephiroth. Yes. And he wasn't going to back out of their little talk this time.

When he paused in the kitchen threshold, four people looked up. Irvine tipped his hat at him and winked, and his mother, who looked better than she had yesterday, actually gave him a relieved look, as if she hadn't been expecting to see him. The other two people, Sora didn't recognize.

The man was muscular and dark-skinned, his black hair cropped short, and a hint of stubble ran along his set jaw. A piercing graced his right eyebrow, and his attire consisted of an orange tank top and loose black track pants with orange trim, which unzipped at the bottom over expensive name-brand sneakers. He looked a bit intimidating until he gave Sora an owlish, curious blink.

His companion, a petite woman with a short silver hairdo that hung over one of her crimson—were those contacts?—eyes, gave Sora a cool look before returning her attention back to the plate in front of her. Sora quickly glanced over her, taking note of her sleeveless, royal purple top that zipped right up to her chin and hung past her hips over designer khakis. Both of these people had obviously come with Sephiroth, but who were they?

Sora gave a small wave and a sheepish grin. "Um, hey guys... Just looking for Riku!" he said and quickly ducked back into the hallway. He decided he'd ask questions later.

He was contemplating going upstairs to look for Riku when he heard whispering from just around the corner. Pausing with one hand on the banister, he listened, trying to make out the voices, but in the end, curiosity won him over, and he decided to sneak a peek around the hallway corner to see who it was.

"...n't want to go back. You yourself put me on extended leave, remember?"

"That was before I realized you were lying to me about needing the time off. If you were that shaken by the breakup as you said you were, you would not be out here trying to mingle with the so-called commoners you used to tell me weren't an audience worth my time and money to target."

Sephiroth really _was_ more gorgeous in person, Sora agreed, though he had to remind himself not to stare. He didn't want to get caught eavesdropping—though it was a little late for that. Cloud noticed him quickly, and Sephiroth did not see Sora because he had his back turned towards the stairs and he had Cloud pinned against the wall. He was leaning close to Cloud, one hand on the other man's hip, his other hand trailing two long fingers through Cloud's blonde hair. Cloud didn't look uncomfortable at all—at least, not until he did see Sora and pointedly shifted his eyes to get the younger man to leave before he was noticed by Sephiroth, too. Sora took his warning and quickly ducked out of sight.

"Are you listening, Cloud?"

"Does it matter?" Cloud sighed. "We've been through this before."

Sephiroth sounded amused. "You're rather defiant today..."

Sora quietly ascended the stairs, leaving them to their own problems. Riku was probably hiding out in his room if he wasn't still talking with Sephiroth. Eager to get this talk over with, Sora hurried up the last of the stairs, trying to ignore the nervous flutter in his gut, and he rounded the corner of the hallway towards Riku's room—

And promptly ran into someone. As usual.

An immediate apology was springing from his mouth right as he looked up to see who he had bumped into, but his words turned into a yelp as that someone abruptly—but gently—pushed him against the wall and pinned him there. Wide-eyed, Sora blinked at his attacker, and sharp green eyes smiled back. Not Riku's eyes. Sora had about a second to notice the tattoos beneath the man's eyes—dark elongated diamonds?—and a shock of wild red hair tied behind him, before the guy gave him a somewhat feral grin.

"Hello there," he said in an overly friendly tone.

Sora was sure he looked intimidated, but he managed out an uneasy, "Um... Hi." He gave a grin back, though it was awkward. This guy's close presence was stifling. "I'm sorry for running into you...?"

The guy backed up a few inches but still lingered close, still looking entertained though Sora couldn't really surmise why. "You don't sound too sure, now do you?" he smirked. "The name's Axel, and I don't believe we've met."

Axel? Why did that sound so familiar...

The weird part about this was that, while Axel seemed to be flirting with him, Sora got the impression he was doing it more for a reaction, not for a result. He was just playing. Sora felt himself relax a little, and he studied Axel carefully, wondering who he was.

"I'm Sora," he said after a moment.

Something changed in Axel's expression then, a sharpening of his eyes, a quirk of his lips, as if he recognized Sora's name. That was when they heard the floorboards creak, and Sora glanced down the hall where Riku was standing with his arms crossed, looking livid.

"Axel." Riku's tone made it obvious that it was a warning, not an interruption.

Axel's lips pulled into another grin as he turned to Riku. "We were just having a friendly chat, darling."

Wait—darling? Sora looked to Riku for an explanation, but the question died in his throat when Riku's eyes met his, and he saw the pleading look there. He didn't even have to ask Sora to leave. He understood.

But it seemed Axel did, too. He glanced from Sora to Riku, and he pulled away from Sora with flourish. "Well, Sora, thank you for making things _much_ clearer for me," he announced, offering a very Irvine-like wink.

"I'll be down in a few minutes," Riku said, watching Sora as the other boy started to back down the hallway.

Nodding, Sora retreated, leaving Riku and Axel alone upstairs. And as soon as Sora's footsteps faded away, Riku's anger returned. He closed the distance between himself and the redhead and pointed right into his chest, glowering.

"Sora is _off limits_," he said firmly.

Axel wasn't even fazed. He laughed, brushing Riku's arm aside before planting his hands on his hips and leaning towards the silver-haired boy. "What? Is he _your_ boyfriend?"

Riku bit his tongue, knowing very well that Sora wasn't with him and that Sora was free for the taking, but...

No. Riku knew what would happen if Axel got a hold of Sora. He wasn't going to let it happen.

"He's _straight_!" he stressed, leaving no room for argument.

But Axel's smirk only grew, this time with a level of smugness that Riku recognized. "Well, Riku," he said with relish, "so were _you_."

-o-o-

Sora found Leon in the living room balancing a laptop against his knees. The man didn't look up as Sora entered, and even though he knew he shouldn't bother Leon when he was busy, Sora wanted some answers.

So he sat right next to Leon on the couch and looked at him expectantly.

Leon ignored him with ease, though there was a faint but growing tension in the room stemming from Sora knowing that Leon was uncomfortable with the boy watching him so intently, but Sora didn't look away.

"So... Leon," he said in a bright tone. "I was upstairs and I happened to run right into a guy named Axel who immediately started flirting with me."

It was subtle, but Sora felt Leon tense.

Knowing he indeed had Leon's attention, he continued with, "And he called Riku _darling_."

"Axel is friendly with a lot of people."

Sora blinked at the sound of Leon's voice. He hadn't been expecting the man to actually talk to him. At least not so soon. Then again, Leon did seem like he had a soft spot for him. "Who _is_ he? And those people in the kitchen?"

"Axel is one of Sephiroth's prized photographers," Leon said without looking up from his laptop. "You'd have to ask Riku about the rest. As for the people in the kitchen..." he started, but an unfamiliar voice cut him off.

"Yo Squall! We wanna get settled into our rooms, ya know?"

Sora turned to find the strange man and woman standing there, the same people he had just been asking about. He didn't fail to notice how both of them eyed how close Sora was sitting next to Leon, who spoke to them in monotone.

"Both of you are in the Premium Room on the second floor, third door on the left. Don't let me catch you anywhere else," he said, but then, much to Sora's surprise, he glanced up at the newcomers in question. "Where's... that man?"

"BUSY," the woman replied curtly.

"Yeah, Seifer's always busy nowadays, ya know? But I'll tell him you were askin' for him."

"That won't be necessary," Leon said grimly as he returned his attention to his laptop, ending the conversation. Sora was left wondering who the hell Seifer and these people were and how Leon knew all of them. Models? Maybe, but somehow Sora doubted it.

After the woman kicked her companion in the leg and told him "GO," they left, and Sora immediately went back to staring at Leon and waiting for answers.

"Who were they?"

This time Leon sighed, reaching up to rub his brow. "Raijin is the loud one. He works for Sephiroth. Kind of like an unofficial bodyguard, but he ends up carrying luggage most of the time. He's never seen without Fujin, who mostly keeps him in check. She usually ends up as the designated driver."

"And Seifer?" Sora wondered.

Leon's frown deepened. "Seifer is the leader of the three of them. Just be glad _he's_ not here."

Sora gave him a curious look, obviously wanting to know more. "Did you model with him or something?"

"I wish it were that simple," Leon muttered distractedly, going back to typing on his laptop.

Though that was an obvious attempt to get Sora to stop asking questions, Sora was about to ask more when they were unfortunately interrupted. The shuffle of boots, rustle of clothes, pleasured gasps, and the wet sound of kissing returned his attention back to the entryway where Sephiroth and Cloud suddenly ducked into the room, completely lost within each other, Sephiroth blindly tugging Cloud by his belt to the nearest sturdy piece of furniture—which happened to be the entertainment center—as they practically devoured each other, alternating lips and teeth and tongue and little groans of pleasure. Sephiroth was gripping the back of Cloud's head by his blonde locks, his other hand releasing Cloud's belt to slip inside of his pants to stroke the curve of his pelvis, and Cloud was by all means _not_ protesting, his hips pushing forward as his own hands ran down Sephiroth's sides.

The blood rushed to Sora's face and started to pool inside of him, stirring at his groin, which made him mentally panic. He couldn't be finding this arousing! How embarrassing! And in front of _Leon!_ He shifted uncomfortably and glanced at the quiet brunet, who looked even more ticked off than usual, his brow set heavy over his glare as he watched Sephiroth and Cloud feel each other up across the room, oblivious that they had company.

Lips skimming down Cloud's jaw to kiss a line down his neck, Sephiroth pushed Cloud right up against the side of the tall entertainment center frame, his large hand sliding down to grasp Cloud's ass, and he pulled his waist forward as he grinded into him, eliciting a sharp, heady gasp from Cloud, whose blonde lashes fluttered shut.

"Sh-Shit... Seph...!"

Leon abruptly cleared his throat.

This successfully caught Sephiroth's attention, who raised his lust-darkened gaze over the curve of Cloud's neck to acknowledge Leon and Sora's presence. Then, slowly, Sephiroth lifted his face, calmly licked his lips, and pulled away from Cloud, smirking. Sora noticed that Cloud seemed to be making it a point not to glance in their direction.

"I thought you came for business," Leon stated, voice laced with ice.

Sephiroth sounded a little husky but amused. "I did. Speaking of which..." He paused, glancing pointedly at Cloud, looking smug. "I will be needing contacts from you."

That was when Cloud's head turned and his eyes landed on Sora. "He's a local," he said in an aloof way.

Sora froze, his breath catching as Sephiroth's attention shifted right to him. The gorgeous man lifted an eyebrow as he studied Sora for the first time, his gaze moving from Sora to Leon to the space between them and then back to Sora, his lips quirking with secret knowledge. His eyes leveled on Sora's, unmoving, looking expectant.

Sora scrambled around in his mind in a panic, trying to come up with something to say before he realized he wasn't even sure what they were demanding from him. Carefully, he asked, "What exactly... do you want to know?"

Sephiroth folded his arms across his chest, and though usually Sora took that to be a defensive or insecure action, Sephiroth played it as a stature of power, his body language reflecting every bit of confidence that Sora wished he had for himself. "As someone who is familiar with this island," Sephiroth said evenly, "you must know something... intriguing about this place that makes it special. Something that makes it..."

"Magazine-worthy?" Sora offered, cutting in before he could stop himself. Internally, he slapped a hand over his big mouth, but in reality he just gave a discomfited grin.

This only seemed to interest Sephiroth more. "Yes," he said. "Precisely that."

Nervous, Sora scratched the side of his head and looked up at the ceiling, thinking about what there was to do here. "Aside from the scenery, blitzball is definitely the main attraction," he said, returning his gaze back to the older man. "Everyone loves that here. It's like a religion or something."

Sephiroth elegantly raised an eyebrow, showing definite curiosity.

"I've heard of blitzball," Cloud spoke up, and even though he sounded disinterested, Sora had a feeling he was acting it out because Sephiroth was around. "And you've never done a cover of it before, Seph."

"So I haven't," Sephiroth agreed, giving a short nod as if he had made up his mind. He reached behind him and pulled a thin silver cell phone from his back pocket. He slid it open, pressed a single button, and placed it to his ear, still watching Sora. "Raijin. Gather everyone. I have a lead, and we have business to do." And without waiting for a response, he ended the call and slid the phone closed again, slipping it back into his pocket. "Very well. I will look into the sport," he said with a businesslike air, but his smirk had turned even more darkly amused.

Sora gave him a small but pleased grin, and beside him, Leon went back to typing. Sephiroth's fingers curled into the open neck of Cloud's shirt and pulled him forward for a brief but deep kiss, and when they parted, Cloud had a distant shade to his eyes and a blush on his face.

"I'll be back soon," Sephiroth murmured, trailing his fingers along Cloud's arm as he pulled away.

Cloud bit his lip and tried (and failed) to look uncaring as he shifted his gaze away. "Fine."

Sephiroth turned to leave, his long hair sweeping behind him, the sound of his fine boots disappearing down the hall. For a few seconds, Cloud just stood there, partially glaring at the edge of the coffee table, but eventually he lifted his face and caught both Leon and Sora staring at him. As if realizing for the first time where he was, he shot them a cool expression and also left.

Relaxing, Sora allowed himself to think about what had just happened and what he had just told Sephiroth. If Sephiroth did get interested in blitzball, any coverage he did of the sport would attract a lot of people here...

The soft clicking of a keypad made him glance at Leon again. "Hey, Leon... I thought Cloud was mad at Sephiroth and that's why he came here. To be... uhh... not around Sephiroth?"

Leon just shrugged.

Sora was pouting at him when they were interrupted again.

"There you are."

Sora's heart fluttered at the familiar voice. Relief was already on his face when he looked up to see Riku standing there, and even though the older boy looked annoyed at something, Sora was just glad Riku had finally shown up.

"Hey," he said, sounding cheerful.

Riku's expression softened almost immediately. He made his way to the empty spot on the couch and slouched into it, releasing an exhausted sigh. "Just shoot me now," he muttered. Riku was pointedly not facing his direction, but Sora did notice how, as Riku relaxed even more, his legs spread further, and his knee almost purposefully ended up pressing right against Sora's. The warmth of the contact made Sora happy, as small as it was.

"You should know by now how Axel does it on purpose," Leon stated without sympathy, glancing at him over the top of his screen. "Stop letting him manipulate you."

Brow furrowing, Sora looked to Riku for an explanation, and Riku slowly glanced at Sora, knowing there was a question waiting at the tip of Sora's tongue.

_What's Axel to you?_

Riku propped his elbow on the back of the couch, resting his chin in his hand as he met Sora's eyes, looking impassive as he spoke. "Axel was my first boyfriend."

Sora's eyes widened. _First_ boyfriend? How far back did they go? Riku had never mentioned Axel before—but then again, the name _did_ sound familiar, but from _where_...

Wait. He was a photographer.

An image of Riku in a tight nightshirt and only briefs came to his mind, the photo Sora had studied for at least ten minutes while Riku had been in his shower after the paint fight. He had read the photo credit. Axel. Axel had at least known Riku that long... But Sora had always gotten the impression that Riku had started dating way earlier than that. What was he not telling Sora?

With Sora lost in his thoughts, Riku slumped against the couch, yawning, rubbing his eyes. The sound of a loud sigh brought Sora back to the present, and Riku's miserable appearance didn't escape his notice. Whatever the past was, Sora figured it could wait a little longer.

"How are you?" he asked, concern in his voice.

Leon must have sensed a private conversation coming up, so he took that opportunity to close his laptop and get up, offering Sora a nod as he turned to leave. Riku's gaze followed after him before he tilted his head back and closed his eyes, his body going mostly still as he reclined there.

"I'm frustrated and pissed and tired as fuck," Riku replied at last, beginning to murmur. He inclined his face towards Sora but didn't look at him. "Nothing's going right, and Seph is here, and he might take Cloud—or even Squall and me—back with him... I guess I'm a little scared, too."

"Can he do that?" Sora asked.

Riku's eyes slowly slipped back open, his eyes distant. "Not by force, but he _is_ our boss. And..."

Sora tilted his head as Riku trailed off. "And...?" he asked, urging Riku to continue.

He sat up, leaning forward, arms resting on his thighs as his silver hair hung in his face. It was almost a look of defeat, and the sight of Riku in such a position wrung at Sora's heart.

"And," Riku said quietly, "he's very persuasive."

-o-o-

Cloud was sitting in _his_ bottom bunk.

When Leon set his laptop on his desk, he made it loud enough to catch Cloud's attention. The blonde lifted his head and stared at him, and a tense silence spread between them as they watched each other, unspoken challenges in their eyes. But in the end, Cloud casually glanced away again and quietly got up from Leon's bunk, moving forward to leave.

Leon's arm shot out to stop him.

Sighing, Cloud paused and met his gaze again. "What?" he asked impatiently.

"Sephiroth didn't come here for business, and he didn't come here to see where all of us had run off to," Leon said in a flat but pointed tone.

Cloud's jaw tightened. "I know, Leonhart. He came to take us back with him."

Leon's gray eyes narrowed as if to tell Cloud to cut the bullshit. "He came to take _you_ back. Specifically you. If he gets the rest of us, he'll be pleased. But he wants you."

"Your point?" Cloud asked.

"You made a promise to Riku," Leon reminded him, cutting to the chase. "We both did. I don't know what yours was, but I don't want to see Riku unhappy if you break it."

Here Cloud sighed again, but before he could brush Leon off, the brunet reached forward and grabbed the open neck of Cloud's shirt, clenching it in his fist to let Cloud know he wasn't joking around.

"You said Sephiroth ruined your life," Leon said, his voice lowering into a dark tone. "I think that's a cover."

Cloud tensed at his words. Icy blue eyes lifted to give Leon a silent warning.

But Leon wasn't deterred. "You're just scared," he said confidently. Then, as he lowered his arm to let Cloud pass, he added in a calm tone, "Stand up to him for once."

Cloud's gaze lingered on his for a moment, and then he silently started to leave again.

"One more thing," Leon said, not surprised when Cloud didn't stop for him. As the blonde entered the hallway, Leon leaned in the doorway to speak after him. "Out of all the people Sephiroth has had his hands on, what's so special about you?" he asked.

The unexpected question did make Cloud glance over his shoulder, his brows drawing together as he studied Leon's impassive expression. When he answered, he said it in such an easy tone that Leon had no doubt it was the truth.

"I'm the guy he fucks more than once."

And with that, he left, missing the faint smile that Leon sent after him.

-o-o-

"Riku?"

"Hm...?"

Sora traced the soft curves of Riku's face with his eyes, his fingers drifting through his velvety silver hair with care. With Sephiroth and his entourage off on their business escapade, Riku had finally had a moment to relax, and he had leaned against Sora without question. Not that he needed the permission. Though his head was resting in Sora's lap, Sora felt no discomfort at all, a tender warmth instead taking the place of his usual awkwardness.

And as Riku's eyelids drifted shut and every muscle in his body relaxed against the couch, Sora couldn't help smiling. Riku needed this break more than Sora needed the reassurance that these feelings were real. Their talk could wait.

Besides, if this warmth inside of him was any indication of how he really felt, he surmised that he and Riku had nothing to worry about at all.

"Never mind," he whispered, hand resting against the nape of Riku's neck.

Riku's fingers gently curled against his thigh, silent gratitude, and that was enough for Sora.

-o-o-

* * *

_  
°The Black Ballad is a heartless in KH1: Final Mix, the dark cousin of Red Nocturnes and Blue Rhapsodies. XD It sounds like a car to me. I imagine that it's a large, expensive jeep/hummer thing._

**NOTE: **Please don't ask about Roxas. Plans have been made.


	13. Ch 13: The Riku Experts

_Author's Notes:_

Big thanks to Dark Ki for her help making the blitzball stuff work, to Mistress Nashya for her opinions, Meruhesae for her support, and Vash's Girl for betaing. And I really can't say thank you enough for everyone who's read and shown interest in and given the time to review this story. So, **thank you**, and...

**HAPPY THIRD BIRTHDAY, A COMPLETE 180°!! **You turned _three_ today, and though there have been setbacks, you're still going strong. At least, I like to think so.

_**Note on **__**Blitzball**_ I had to take a lot of creative liberties with blitzball in this story to make it into a realistic sport for this kind of non-fantasy setting. As such, it's a bit different from the blitzball in the FFX games. For example, in 180, they wear specialized wetsuits, their arena isn't a sphere but is instead a fenced-off area in the ocean, the audience watches from underwater observatories, and they breathe using "rebreathers."

* * *

_**  
Chapter Thirteen: The Riku Experts**_

-o-o-

With the warm weight of Riku's head in his lap, Sora found that he was actually pretty comfortable just sitting there on the couch with nothing but his own thoughts for company, and that warmth and comfort was lulling Sora into a dazed happiness, threatening to make him drift off to sleep as well.

It somehow seemed appropriate that Leon ended up being his unknowing savior again. Sora's head was nodding by the time he showed up, just a shuffle of boots and slight click of belt buckles, but it was enough for Sora to snap out of his sleepy daze and look up.

Leon had paused in front of the couch, and one hand rested on his hip. A strangely soft smirk was on his face, his brow knitted as if he were trying not to look too amused. It was almost a fond look. "He did need the rest," he commented quietly, probably trying not to wake Riku up. His gray eyes flitted up to Sora's face. "I can move him if you want."

If Riku needed the sleep that much, it was probably a good idea to relocate him before someone loud showed up. Nodding, Sora offered a small smile, looking down at Riku as Leon approached. Sora watched as Leon's hands slipped under Riku's legs and around his shoulders, gently lifting him into his arms with ease. Legs dangling over Leon's arm, Riku stirred in his sleep, loudly breathing out as he curled towards Leon's broad chest, not waking up. Sora couldn't help grinning a little at that, finding Riku's vulnerability cute.

With a nod of his head, Leon motioned for Sora to follow him as he turned to leave the room. Sora took a moment to himself, noticing the warmth of Riku's body lingering on his clothes, and that the missing weight in his lap made him feel kind of empty. As Leon disappeared into the hall, Sora got up to trail after him, not missing the look Leon sent over his shoulder to make sure he was there.

They ascended the stairs together, completely silent aside from the creak of the stairs. Sora studied the way Riku was just small enough to fit perfectly in the older man's arms, and how easily Leon seemed to carry him in cradle that seemed almost affectionate. Sora could never be like that with Riku, he realized, and the thought saddened him. Even if they got together, Sora just wasn't fit to do that kind of stuff for Riku. He bet that if he tried to heft Riku into his arms, they'd both fall over backwards and hurt themselves. Not that Sora was weak or that much smaller than Riku now... Though Sora _would_ prefer to be the stronger one. Yeah, how likely was that? Sora could hardly think about Riku without blushing.

When they reached Riku's room, Sora hovered in the doorway as Leon moved to the bed, carefully setting Riku down on his half made bed. Making sure he wasn't waking up, Leon then tugged the covers over Riku and straightened, turning towards Sora and giving him an inquisitive look. Sora took it to mean, _What's your problem?_ and he flashed Leon a disarming grin. That somewhat amused expression returned to Leon's face, and they both quietly left the room, closing the door behind them. They didn't speak until they were at the top of the stairs, and Sora started going down first.

Since Riku was safely asleep in his room, Sora decided it was the perfect opportunity to start drilling everyone about Riku's enigmatic past. Without glancing back at Leon, he threw his first question at him. "What was Riku like when you first met?"

Sora didn't look to check, but he thought he heard Leon's feet hesitate on the creaky stairs. Then, after a moment, Leon replied with a short but certain, "Cocky."

Sora had to glance back at Leon then, giving a small laugh. "Cocky?" Yeah, Riku had definitely been awfully cocky a week ago when they had gotten reacquainted. "When was that?"

Leon gave a thoughtful hum. "About three years."

So Riku had to have been like this for at least that long. Sora wondered just when the timid Riku of his memories had transformed into the Riku of today. Even if that vulnerable Riku _was_ still inside of this new Riku, Sora had a feeling he hadn't developed that self-confident flair on his own.

"How... close were you two?" Sora wondered, knowing it was probably too personal. Leon's eyes narrowed a fraction, but Sora didn't look away, wanting to know.

Hesitantly, Leon averted his gaze and moved past Sora on the stairs, muttering, "As close as Riku would let me."

Sora paused, watching Leon's retreating form, left with his confused thoughts over such an ambiguous answer. It was obvious Leon wasn't comfortable at all with the subject, and that Leon would be dodging any more questions that Sora tried to ask...

But that didn't stop Sora from wondering. He sighed, continuing down the stairs, deciding to find someone who _would_ sate his curiosity.

-o-o-

It was getting harder to ignore their harassment. Maybe the coach had noticed, but he hadn't made a move to confront the offending players about leaving their captain alone. After all—accidents happened all the time in sports, and blitzball was no different, especially since it was a full contact sport and tackling could get out of hand.

Tidus had always had a bit of a challenge from some of the players, especially Bickson and his gang, because Tidus was the local star and that kind of status meant for fiercer competition and silent enemies amongst teammates. But they had always kept their harsh feelings at a minimum, only getting away with a foul when things were too obvious. Lately, though, with Tidus's frequent visits to the "gay house" and the way he had stuck up for Sora...

Well, let's just say that Tidus left every recent practice with bruises that were no accidents.

Today was no different. After a few of the violent kicks he had received, he had decided to stay behind after practice to avoid anyone who might have wanted to "walk him home"—because he knew better than to trust their phony invitations. Eventually, this harassment was going to turn into something a lot worse. He thought about reporting them, but from the lack of support he had seen from the coach lately, he had thought it was probably a useless idea. He'd pretend it just didn't bother him and maybe the jerks would give up.

As he entered the locker room after his extended practice session, he was still feeling a painful throb in his side from where Graav had jammed his heel into him earlier. As he rubbed at the sore spot, he heard the slap of Aquastrides° against the wet floor behind him, and for a moment he froze where he stood, fearing maybe he hadn't missed the other players after all. But the gait was familiar, heavy but casual, and a relaxed hum from the newcomer helped him identify the person as Wakka before the other boy was even in sight. He let out a relieved sigh knowing it was just his friend, who had become rather protective of him in the past few days. At least _someone_ was on his side.

Then again, Wakka had left the water pretty early, and it made Tidus wonder what he was still doing here.

"Yo Tidus!"

As Wakka appeared in the threshold, Tidus gave him an open grin before turning towards the nearest bench as he pulled off his gloves and wrist braces. "Hey Wakka. I thought you had already left?" he remarked while sitting, setting down his stuff to pull off his soaked boots. Like Wakka's, they were Aquastrides, split-toed with extra grip, and though they weren't the best of the best, they were affordable and did their job well. Their snug ankle design was also so comfortable that his feet always felt a little naked and clumsy afterward in his bulky land shoes.

Wakka laughed as Tidus set his shoes aside. "No, man, I got jumped!"

This made Tidus freeze again, a flash of worry filtering through him—had the others started targeting Wakka too?—but then he realized that Wakka had sounded too amused for it to be that. So, relaxing, Tidus stretched his toes out and looked up at his friend. "What do you mean by jumped?" he asked.

Wakka looked oddly pleased about something, his lips pulled into the kind of grin that told Tidus he was about to hear very good news. Hopefully good enough to make him stop worrying about the jerks on the team.

"When I left da water, some city guy was awaitin' for me," Wakka explained easily, "and he took me to one of da boxes where more city people were awaitin', and I got asked a hundred questions—"

City people? Scouts? Tidus hadn't been watching the boxes, which were the observation areas where people watched the games, or in this case, the practice. Had he known _scouts_ were there, he would have tried harder to look good! Damn it! He'd probably looked like an idiot when Graav had barreled into him, and he'd let him get away with that cheap shot. Which still stung like hell.

"—yo, Tidus, man, ya listenin' or what?"

Tidus snapped out of his small revelation to find Wakka giving him the kind of amused look that made it obvious Wakka wasn't worrying about this at all. Shouldn't he also be freaking out if a scout had been there watching such a crappy practice?

"Yeah, I'm listening," he replied, starting to get up, still dripping seawater onto the floor.

"So I can go get him, den?"

Once again, Tidus found himself pausing, this time as surprise wrenched his heart. He looked at Wakka with widened eyes. "Wait—_what_?"

Wakka's grin only grew, and Tidus knew that had been a purposeful trap. "I _said_, da main guy was askin' me all these questions about ya and told me to give ya a head's up because he wants to meet ya!"

Tidus could only imagine what his face must have looked like at that moment as it suddenly lit up with an excited grin. "Do I!" he laughed, moving towards his friend. "Hell yeah!"

If that _was _a scout, if the guy was interested, no doubt this would be a huge turning point in his life, for his _dream_! Anticipation dancing inside of him, he had to fight back the urge to do something retarded like throwing himself on Wakka and hugging him or breaking out into a happy jig. Wakka must have understood his sudden burst of emotion, though, because he broke into laughter and slapped Tidus's shoulder.

"Just don't embarrass ya'self," he warned with good humor. "We all know how dat tongue of yours does more dan get tied durin' intaviews."

Tidus just grinned, not worried at all. He'd never told Wakka that he got awkward during school newspaper interviews because, after every big game, they sent the _same_ hot guy to talk to him, Pierce D. Carradine, who somehow always got away with flirting even though Tidus had never let on in public that he was gay. Or even remotely interested. He wasn't, for that matter, because while Tidus had to admit that he liked Pierce's type, he was more interested in Sora. Or had been... And in any case, what were the odds of this blitzball scout flirting with him? Come on.

"No sweat," Tidus said with complete confidence, planting a hand on his hip. "I mean, I must have already made an impression, right? So I just need to milk it in."

Here Wakka lifted his brows. "If ya say so," he said, grin still in place. He started to turn away, his gaze lingering on Tidus. "I'll go get 'im. Good luck, man, and tell me how it goes!"

"Gotcha! Thanks, pal!" Tidus called after him.

He took a moment to just breathe and feel this amazing sense of accomplishment, ignoring the subtle worry that nagged at him because of his performance during practice. He tried to remember some of the things he had done earlier, replaying a few of his good passes and shots and special moves. Even if he hadn't been at the peak of his performance, who _wouldn't_ have been impressed with some of the moves he'd pulled off?

Not that Tidus was overly confident. He knew he was good, and that was why he was the local star. Like it or not, the other players did recognize his talent. Tidus loved himself, but it wasn't like he overplayed his confidence or was stuck in a cloud or put himself on a higher pedestal than everyone else. Though the others treated him differently, either with reverence or envy, he'd rather be their friend before their captain, and he never liked being the complete center of attention. It was normal to have an ego, but he wasn't a jerk about it.

If anything, he knew he deserved this chance at getting his name out there. It was what he'd dreamed about most of his life, so as he waited there, staring at the door and brimming with eagerness, it was hard to keep a straight face, it was hard not to fidget, it was hard not to think about what kind of questions the scout would ask him or what his own answers could mean for his future.

_Cool it, Tidus, you can do this. _

So when Tidus heard the echo of smooth, thick soles against the hard floor, definitely not blitzball shoes, he shoved away his excitement and planted on his business face, forcing himself to look away from the locker room entrance. He took a slow breath, easing out the knots in his stomach, even as the footsteps drew closer. He took another slow breath, feeling his heart beginning to calm down, allowing him a clearer state of mind.

_You've already made a good impression during practice, so just keep it up._

With a soft shuffle, the footsteps came to a stop behind Tidus, exactly where Wakka had paused earlier, and Tidus began to take in his final calming breath before he turned around. It was a slow turn, taken with a deliberate smoothness that gave off an air of poise and confidence.

But that poise died with the breath in his throat when his eyes landed on the so-called scout standing there. Brain function ceased. His mouth dropped open. And he _stared_.

"So this is the celebrated Tidus Albright," came the calm statement from the newcomer, who was unfazed by Tidus's gaping. His voice was deep and smooth, tinged with slight impatience as well as curiosity. "The proclaimed image of perfection, the island _star_." This was said with a hint of amusement, and Tidus's heart revived enough to flutter before the man continued in his sultry voice. "Or so that is what they told me about you," he finished, and though it hadn't been a question or invitation to speak back, it had such definite authority in it that Tidus knew this man was demanding a response.

_This man_, his brain choked. But he knew the man's name. God, how could he forget it? His hormones practically recited it as a mantra whenever he thought about what he had seen in Sora's magazines and what he had heard from answering Cloud's phone.

"Sephiroth," he found himself saying aloud.

It had been uttered softly in a kind of awed voice, but it seemed it had been enough of a response for Sephiroth. A fine silver eyebrow rose at the sound of his own name, and he slightly inclined his head, eyeing Tidus differently than before.

"So you know who I am."

Instinct took over Tidus's mind, making his mouth rush out with, "Of course I know who you are!"

But Sephiroth said nothing, that brow still raised in question, so Tidus continued.

"I talked to you on the phone the other day!"

Now _this_ got a reaction. Tidus reacted first to his own outburst, clamping his mouth shut and looking caught, but Sephiroth arched his other brow in a slightly surprised, interested look.

"Is that so?" he said, and Tidus immediately knew that Sephiroth was waiting for details. The kind of details that Tidus wasn't sure he was supposed to be giving, but damn if he could keep it to himself when Sephiroth himself was standing right in front of him, the epitome of intimidation and sexiness in one.

"Yeah, when Cloud was in the shower and his cell phone went off and I answered it and you said 'This isn't Cloud' and I told you where he was and you wanted to know who I was and before I could tell you, Cid snatched the phone and—"

Sephiroth's gaze narrowed a fraction as this was revealed.

Tidus's brain was beginning to work again, and he realized he had just told Sephiroth that he knew Riku—or at least Cloud—which might have been a smart thing because it meant he had contacts in high places, but it also could have been a stupid thing considering he didn't _really_ know what the situation between those three was now. So that meant he had either just humiliated himself... or made quite an impression.

Sephiroth gave nothing away at first, one of his hands lifting to his chin in thought, and that was when he started to _look_ at Tidus. It wasn't a normal kind of look, though. It was the kind of intense studying that made Tidus feel like he was standing naked under a searchlight.

Tidus had _never_ felt more vulnerable in his wetsuit before. Those sharp eyes scanned slowly along his body, studying his dripping wet spring-style suit, traveling along its revealing short sleeves to study his biceps, moving towards his chest, skimming downward, downward, over his abdomen, over his crotch, lingering where the short-legged suit revealed his toned thighs, and a subtle smirk began to form on Sephiroth's luscious lips, sending heat spiraling through Tidus, making him even scared to breathe for fear of humiliating himself. His brain was still struggling to register that this was _Sephiroth_ and he was _interested_ and they were _alone _and Tidus was wet and wearing a skintight suit and he was suddenly horny as hell and—

_OmigodpleasedoNOTletmydickembarrassme!_

"Interesting," was Sephiroth's conclusion, as if he had just been told something mundane like the acid rain in cities stunted shrub growth. _Interesting_, like Tidus was a specimen he'd seen before. The scary part was that Tidus couldn't tell if it was an honest tone or just Sephiroth messing with him, though he had a feeling it was the latter. Sephiroth's eyes had given a completely different kind of _Interesting_, and that was enough for Tidus to take back some of his confidence.

Tidus wasn't sure how, but he managed to avoid eyeing Sephiroth's body while also giving him a convincing smile. "Yeah, I've been helping Riku and the others with the boarding house."

"I see," came the ambiguous response, and Sephiroth lowered his hand from his chin, calmly folding one arm over his chest. "Then there is no need for an introduction."

Tidus again decided to try to be collected about this. Casual. But not disrespectful. "No, no introduction, though I'm curious as to why you're here exactly. Is it a scouting thing?"

"You could call it that," Sephiroth replied smoothly. "As you undoubtedly know by now, I caught the end of your practice today, and not only did the sport catch my interest, I also noticed the amount of skill most of your team possessed. I was told you were the captain?"

A piece of Tidus's heart sank with disappointment. Was that all? Because he was the captain?

"Yes," he said, glad that his voice was obeying him even though his pulse was racing and his nerves were on edge.

"Out of the talented players, I was particularly impressed by you," Sephiroth continued.

It was enough for Tidus's brain to come to another halt, hope rising again. Sephiroth's gaze began to travel again, glancing at the objects on the bench—Tidus's gloves, boots, rebreather—and then back to Tidus himself, focusing on a spot around Tidus's waist, his abdomen area, which made Tidus want to squirm. He didn't.

"What do you call that move you executed earlier?" Sephiroth asked. "Before that other boy slammed into you."

Two thoughts ran through Tidus's mind at this time, one of course being along the lines of, _Yes! So he __**did**__ notice my good moves! _The other, however, angered him, hating how easily Graav and Bickson and the rest of them could harass him and get away so easily with it. Sephiroth, however, had said his statement in such a tone that Tidus had a feeling he knew what had really happened.

"It's called a sphere shot," Tidus replied, offering a pleased smile. "It's kind of like an underwater bicycle kick."

"It was impressive," Sephiroth commented, and this time his interest didn't just look genuine, it sounded the part too.

Tidus's smile spread. "Thanks. I'm trying to perfect it." His mind was reeling with excitement again, but he focused on Sephiroth's voice to keep himself rooted.

"You move so naturally in the water," the older man said objectively, all business again. "It's easy to see that you have a lot of experience."

But it was still a compliment, and a damn good one at that. From _Sephiroth. _Tidus's lips pulled into a grin this time, and even though he sounded boyish when he replied, it was sincere. "Yeah, the water is like my second home, and I've been blitzing since I was really small."

Sephiroth nodded, expression unchanging. "I see," he said, and then his tone began to sound more conversational. "I had a chance to speak with your coach and a teammate. They both mentioned how you're the favorite, so to speak. The island star." He paused there, leaving it as another indirect demand for a response.

Sephiroth had used that phrase twice now, which led Tidus to believe that he must have liked it. "You could say that," Tidus said with no hesitation about his confidence.

This was when things began to take a different turn. Sephiroth's eyes sharpened as they met Tidus's again, lingering as if waiting for Tidus to look away. But Tidus didn't, even though the urge was strong and a wellspring of emotion surged inside of him, just waiting to break free.

Sephiroth's lips curled into a smirk that almost looked pleased. "Well, Ti-dus," he said, drawing out the syllables of his name as if they were a sweet treat. Tidus nearly died on the spot. "I'm sure you don't want to be retiring after high school. If you want to keep that fame of yours, and dare I say—considerably _expand_ that fame—you should come in and see me for a cover."

"Cover?" Tidus choked out quickly, his excitement beginning to betray him at last. No doubt Sephiroth had caught his eagerness there.

"Just a photo shoot and an interview in one of my magazines will do wonders for your name," Sephiroth continued with a knowing look, purposely drawing this next part out. His smirk became suggestive. "Not to mention... You're cocky. Scouts love confident players."

And for a long, long moment, Tidus could only stare. Inside, he was overwhelmed with all kinds of emotions—disbelief, pride, anticipation, fear—and it took all of his willpower not to start blathering at Sephiroth like an idiot. Somehow, he knew that Sephiroth knew exactly what he was thinking, but the man waited patiently for Tidus to regain control of himself, the stunned look on Tidus's face fading into a boyish grin.

"I would love to!"

And as Sephiroth calmly smiled at the unspoken contract now between them, Tidus had a feeling that his sports life wasn't the only thing that was about to take a turn for the best.

-o-o-

Okay, so Sora's plan was failing so far. Leon had managed to avoid him, Irvine had been sent to get some quick groceries a while ago, and Sora knew that Cloud didn't know enough about Riku to help him, so he found himself in the living room, lying on the couch, utterly bored but wondering all sorts of things.

Like—where the hell had his necklace gone? He had given up yesterday, but his heart still hurt every time he thought about it being missing, how it might still be out there waiting for him to find it, that maybe he had just overlooked it in his panicked search...

He also thought about how everyone around him seemed to have such an interesting and fun life, and there _he _was, boring Sora, stuck in the middle of it all. Why did Riku even like him? Was it only because he was chasing the little boy from his past? Did he even like the Sora of _today_...?

Groaning at his own negativity, Sora rolled over onto his stomach and pulled a couch pillow over his head, wishing he could just get his mind to shut up.

He wasn't sure how long he was like that, but eventually he did fall into a light sleep, waking each time he heard a noise—a thump from upstairs, creaking stairs, a door closing, someone laughing—but he refrained from getting up and inspecting anything.

The funny part about that was that he ended up being part of someone else's inspection. When the pillow was abruptly pulled off his head, he let out a whine and curled towards the back of the couch, blocking out the light with his arm. "Go away," he muttered.

"Wakey, wakey," came the teasing tone right into his ear, a warm hand suddenly sliding over his stomach to dip under his shirt.

Sora froze for a split second, digesting that voice, and then promptly shot up off the couch and flailed out with a panicked cry. "Irvine, you're evil!" he snapped as he got to his feet, fixing him with an angry look as he carefully tugged his shirt further down than necessary as if to protect himself.

Irvine was laughing and rubbing his arm where Sora had managed to get a hit in. "Did Riku ever tell you that you're completely molestable when you're pouting?"

To which Sora's glare immediately faded into an embarrassed expression. "W-_What_?" he managed to get out, knowing too well to let that kind of comment slide. When Irvine teased, it was probably _half_ a joke.

Irvine fell into a playful grin, and he reached out to beep Sora's nose, winking. "Just joking," he said, and that was when Sora knew he had to watch out for wandering hands from then on. "Man, Riku was never this fun to play with."

Wait. Riku. Irvine. That's right! His plan! Irvine was back now!

Sora grabbed Irvine's wrist and gave him a determined expression, and for just a second, Irvine looked kind of scared at the sudden change in Sora's demeanor as if he thought Sora were mad at him—maybe a lot of Irvine's flirting was just a show? And sure enough, when Sora spoke, Irvine relaxed considerably.

"Tell me about Riku. What Riku was like when you first met him," Sora said, insistent, not wanting this opportunity to go to waste.

Irvine easily extracted his arm from Sora's grip and flashed him an easy smile before drawling, "I was beginning to think you'd never ask."

_Finally!_ Sora cried silently, returning Irvine's smile with a grin of his own, eager to find out more about what Riku didn't want him to know. "And I was beginning to think no one was on my side!"

Irvine turned up his charm and casually fell into a lounging position on the couch, gesturing for Sora to follow. Still a little wary of being groped, Sora sat with a considerable space between them, and tried to ignore Irvine's amused laugh. Tilting his cowboy hat up to look at Sora better, he reclined back with an elbow on a raised knee, and he studied Sora with a friendly air.

"So you want to know what he was like when I first met him."

Sora nodded eagerly.

"Cocky," Irvine said without hesitation. "Cocky. As. Hell. He was a little imp." And while this might have been the spot where Leon would have stopped, Irvine kept going. "I had heard of Riku before I had even met him. People I worked with would be gossiping as usual at each other, talking about who was the new favorite, who had the easiest hair to style, who fussed the least about makeup and whatnot. Riku's name kept being brought up, so I was naturally curious. He had only been under contract for a short amount of time, but it seemed he had earned himself all sorts of rumors. And, it was said that everyone who met him wanted to have a piece of him."

It didn't even cross Sora's mind that Irvine could have been exaggerating about any of that. Though the thought of all those people ogling Riku made him uncomfortable, he had to admit that, with Riku's looks, it was believable.

Again, Irvine kept going. "But he was untouchable. No one had been able to get him into bed, though they were all fairly positive he was gay and had already been with Sephiroth—which is actually not as common as it sounds. Anyway, so Riku was cocky and untouchable, and I liked challenges. So I pulled some strings, got to stand in for one of the models scheduled to work with Riku on a quarterly, aaaaand during the after party, I successfully seduced him and we had a glorious week of pure, unadulterated fucking. It was fantastic."

Sora's mouth fell open as those words, spoken in such a casual and conversational tone, registered in his mind with the kind of shock they deserved. "You did _what_, and then you and Riku _what_—?" he demanded, wanting to know if he had heard that right. But then, already knowing the answer to that, he swallowed past the embarrassment and leaned forward, quite honestly curious. "H-_How_?" he asked, resisting the urge to ask more than one thing at a time.

"How to which part?" Irvine smirked.

Sora's ears felt hot. "The... seducing. If he was that untouchable."

This time, Irvine's crooked smirk was somewhat worrying to Sora. "Sora, they might not have told you, but... my charm? It's irresistible." He started to sit up, leaning towards Sora, poking him in the chest. "You're lucky you have someone like Riku."

Sora was unable to hold back his uncomfortable laugh, knowing exactly what Irvine was implying. In an attempt to shift the focus away from _him_, Sora tried, "So was that all to your relationship with him?"

Irvine made a terribly amused face at that. "What do _you_ think?" he asked, adjusting his cowboy hat. "If I did this kind of thing—" he paused, gesturing around the room to indicate the house, "—for every guy or girl I've been with, I'd have a nice career out of it, don't you think?"

Sora decided not to guesstimate just how many people that might have been, but it was a nice clue nonetheless. Why didn't anyone ever get specific when talking about Riku, though? Well... If Irvine had magically wooed Riku into his bed, maybe he could help with Sora's other problem...

Trying not to feel too awkward, Sora decided to give it a shot. But as soon as he got his mouth open, Irvine had already been distracted. Waving to someone in the hallway, Irvine called out to him.

"Yo Ax!"

Stupid disruptions always getting in the way of his interrogations! He was getting really sick of—

Wait. Ax? As in Axel? This change in plans suddenly seemed to scream Perfect Opportunity to Sora. If anyone knew Riku, it'd be his first boyfriend, right? Even if Riku was on bad terms with him now, Axel still seemed to be soft on Riku.

"Hey Irvy," was the return greeting, and Sora thought it somehow made sense that these two would know each other that familiarly. He watched as the redhead casually inched into the room and paused just inside, leveling his gaze on Irvine and ignoring Sora for the moment.

"Any news?" Irvine asked, reclining and resting his elbow on the back of the couch.

Sora noticed that Axel, while he was still obviously from the city, didn't dress nearly as nicely as the others he'd come across. His jeans looked faded and well loved with their worn knees and frayed ends and one or two colorful stray patches. He was wearing two layers (yeah, he'd learn quickly that that was too many layers on an _island_), the top one a loose, open blazer, and the bottom one a simple beige and black shirt. The only things particularly stylish about his attire were the flame stitching at the bottom of the blazer and the small pins stuck into the collar—which seemed to be for bands or something. He looked normal, not extravagant, and Sora found that kind of normality comfortable all of a sudden.

Axel also had a camera bag hanging from his shoulder, and Sora wondered if they had actually checked out the blitzball practice after all. How much time had passed since they had gone and Sora had fallen asleep?

"Yeah," Axel replied, dragging a hand through his hair, which, now that it was out of a ponytail, Sora saw that it flared out behind him like a hedgehog or something. It was kinda cool, really, with that vibrant red color fading into a darker red along the spikes. Axel lowered his hand, planting it on his hip as he regarded Irvine. "I heard Ansem was coughing up a lot of money for Arc's new leather models. You should check it out."

Irvine's eyebrows lifted, disappearing under the dip of his cowboy hat. "Arc, huh?" he asked, sounding contemplative. "It's worth a shot..."

Sora wasn't about to be left out the conversation this time. "Is Arc a brand or something?"

Axel's green eyes shifted, focusing on him, and that grin from before was back on Axel's face. "Top quality name. Ars Arcanum is _the_ brand of brands around here, as renowned as the foreign stuff."

"The designer is the guy I mentioned. Ansem," Irvine explained, sounding amused about something. "Riku used to work for him all the time. Ansem has a total fixation on him."

Somehow, it all always led right back to Riku. Sora blinked at this revelation, not sure what to think about it. He looked to Axel for more information, who caught the silent question.

"It was a bit of a scandal," Axel said. As if a scandal could be something small. "It wasn't on the news or anything, and only a handful of people really knew about it, but the rumors started getting out of hand..."

"Sephiroth was pissed and snuffed out the 'rumors' before they could spread to the media," Irvine continued. "And Riku is no longer assigned to modeling Arc."

"Yeah, but most people don't think it really happened. Ansem doesn't pick favorites. Ever," Axel said.

Irvine let out a long whistle, lowering his cowboy hat with his hand. "I don't know about that. Riku told me they were true."

Axel's eyes widened a fraction, a strange smirk pulling at his lips. "Is that so?" he said. "Huh. Ansem still asks for him, too."

They both glanced at Sora, and he must have had an astonished expression on his face or something because they both laughed at him, which made him try to find the right way to word the question burning at his tongue.

Then, slowly, "How many people has Riku..." he started, faltering, not for the last time wishing he were more articulate. "Um..."

"Fucked?" both Irvine and Axel offered at the same time.

Sora felt his ears burning again. "Yeah."

None of them were expecting the new voice that spoke up to answer. Leon had come in behind Axel without them noticing. "Including myself," he said in that frosty tone of his, "just five." He narrowed his eyes at Irvine before leveling them on Axel. "The three of us, Sephiroth, and yes, Ansem."

No one could argue with that. It was almost an unspoken agreement that Leon probably knew a lot more about Riku than anyone else in the room, and no one knew _why_ Leon did.

Still, five people? And—the way Leon had put it. "_Only_ five?" Sora repeated aloud.

Axel chuckled at that, but it was Irvine who made the first comment. "Some of us get a new guy every night, Sora."

"Wow, this kid is innocent," Axel added.

"A lot of us like to try real relationships," Leon said pointedly, gray eyes on Irvine again, warning.

Axel gave a short laugh, shooting Leon a knowing smirk. "You always told me that you and Riku were never _officially_ together. So much for real relationships."

Leon coolly met his gaze. "I didn't say I was talking about myself," he said back in a curt tone. "As for Riku and me..." He started to turn away, clearly leaving. "...that's none of your business. Now stop scaring the kid."

When he was gone, silence reigned for a long moment, and Sora had a chance to think about what he had just learned. Axel's mouth was set in a grim line as he stared in the direction Leon had left. Irvine was the first to break the tension in the room by getting to his feet and stretching, giving a satisfied sigh.

"Well, I guess it's time to make some calls. Ansem's messing with leather, huh?" he asked.

And just like that, Axel was grinning again, the grim expression gone. "Yeah. Check it out and tell them I sent you."

With a gentlemanly bow, Irvine tipped his hat, his long ponytail sweeping over his shoulder. Then, turning to Sora, he replaced his hat and winked, leaving the younger man with Axel, but the redhead's mind seemed to be in another place. Sora couldn't claim to know what exactly was going on between Leon, Riku, and Axel, but whatever it was, it was really starting to annoy him. In the short time he had known them, he had seen each of their hidden sides. Those who didn't know Riku didn't know how sensitive and scared he sometimes was, and likewise with Leon, they didn't know how soft and kind he could be, and also with Axel, from what Sora had just seen—they probably didn't know that Axel's playfulness was just a cover.

"Man... that guy's still hung up on Riku?" Axel commented in a dour tone, staring off toward the hall.

For a second, Sora was confused. "Who, Irvine?"

"Squall," Axel corrected, glancing at him. "They really didn't tell you much, huh?" he asked, lifting his brows and giving him a small smile. "Well, I'll leave that one for Squall himself. As for you..." Axel drew nearer, looming over Sora's position on the couch, his hands planted on his hips as he leaned forward, meeting Sora's curious expression. "I've heard a lot about you, you know."

Sora only drew back a fraction, mostly because he could feel Axel's breath against his cheek. "I, uh..."

"So-ra," Axel said as he pulled a way, punctuating the air with a finger for each syllable, his voice taking on a whimsical flair, "Riku's very own Prince Charming. Though if I do say so myself, you look to be more of a damsel in distress, kid."

Sora made a face at that. "And how old are _you_?" he asked, starting to get really tired of being called a kid all the time. He was _eighteen_.

"Twenty-two and still going," was the easy reply, Axel thrusting his hand out to Sora. "And we got off on the wrong foot earlier. I was being an ass, and even if I _am _an ass, I'd like you to see me as a better ass than that. Let's start over."

Eyeing him skeptically, Sora didn't take his hand just yet, wondering what he was up to now. Was he being serious? "Aside from antagonizing Riku, I don't have a problem with you. At all," he said. "But... If you insist." Hesitantly, he slipped his hand in Axel's. "I'm Sora."

The redhead gave a pleased look and shook his hand firmly. "The name's Axel. A-X-E-L," he returned, punctuating the air with his other hand this time. "Axel Croft." And then, tapping his temple, he said in a playful tone, "Got it memorized?"

"I actually do," Sora laughed, pulling his hand away. "I know who you are. The photographer."

Axel formed an off-put expression. "Oh, so they already warned you about me, huh?"

Once again not quite sure if he understood the full implications of that and pretty sure he didn't want to, he decided to keep the conversation honest. "Sort of," he admitted. "Actually, I've seen some of your work."

The grin that pulled across Axel's face had a kind of fervor behind it that made Sora think about a predator again, like when he had first bumped into Axel. "Did you like it?"

Sora reached up to rub the back of his neck, giving a short laugh. "It was only one thing, really," he said, suddenly feeling shy.

Axel shook his head, his zeal unfading. "Sometimes that's all it takes," he insisted. "Which one was it?"

Well, it wasn't like Sora could back out now. He lowered his gaze, thinking back to that one page, picturing it almost perfectly in his head. After all, he had stared at it long enough while Riku had been in his shower. "It was of Riku... He was wearing a small night shirt, dark blue. I think it said it was from some collection. Something Moon."

Axel's grin spread at that, a knowing glint in his eyes as he moved forward to prod Sora playfully in the shoulder. "Ah, the infamous tightie-whitie shot!" he announced quite loudly and a bit too happily.

Sora felt the warmth blossoming on his cheeks as he remembered trying not to find Riku's brief-clad body admittedly very sexy. "Yeah, that one," he confirmed, finding himself smiling anyway, infected by Axel's lighthearted mood. This guy wasn't that bad at all. He actually felt relaxed around him, unlike with some of the others. Even Leon kind of intimidated him...

When Axel's face lit with sudden inspiration, Sora knew what it meant before the redhead had even said anything. But somehow, Sora also knew that he'd probably be going along with any plan Axel would be concocting.

"Let's go to my room," Axel said with a boyish grin of excitement. His fingers curled around the strap of his camera bag, hefting it more comfortably over his shoulder, and he regarded Sora with an expectant look. "I have a hunch, and if I'm right about it, I can help you find what you've been looking for."

"What I've been looking for?" Sora asked, frowning in confusion, but he was already getting to his feet.

Nodding his head toward the hall, Axel turned to leave. "Yeah, you're having a Riku problem," he said, and though he spoke in his laid-back way, Sora could tell he was also being serious. "And I happen to be a Riku expert, and probably the only Riku expert here who isn't on Riku's side and can get you what you want."

"Which is...?" Sora asked, trailing after him to the stairs.

Axel paused with his hand on the banister, his other still curled around the strap to his camera bag. His grin had twisted into a very shrewd smirk that made Sora feel as if all of his fears and emotions were on display and Axel knew exactly how to dissect them.

"Which _is_," Axel said, "the way past his defenses to make him _yours_, Prince Charming."

Sora's first response was a discomfited, disbelieving grin, but when Axel's expression didn't waver, Sora realized he was being serious. His second response was something like, _Wait, isn't this what I wanted? Someone to coach me to be more articulate? To be more prepared with Riku? To teach me __**about**__ Riku? Why am I hesitating!_

Ignoring the way his stomach suddenly turned over with a jumble of unease and excitement, Sora tried Axel's expression on, his lips quirking into somewhat confident smirk. "Alright, Fairy Godmother. Make me into a prince."

With a good-humored snicker, Axel reached out to muss Sora's hair, very Riku-like, before he started back up the stairs. Sora followed him, all the while silently trying to contain his laughter, feeling giddy and on top of things for once.

Axel had been given the White Room, which, upon entry, definitely made Sora pause in the doorway and just stare for a moment. Everything in the room, from the floor to the walls to the bedsheets to the furniture to the _books_... was all white. Here and there was a hint of black or another stray color from tags and text and whatnot, but the sheer amount of untainted white was impressive. Axel's stuff had already been dumped on the floor, and the expensive black equipment and small bag of luggage was such a stark contrast that Sora wondered how anyone could stay in this room without going nuts. Glancing up, Sora caught sight of Axel's hair and almost winced at the vibrant color standing against the white.

Axel seemed totally unaffected. He hefted one of his bags onto the bed and expertly zipped it open, pulling out a small stack of thin, skillfully bound, hard covered folders. Each of them had Axel's initials on the spine. Not all of them were black, and Sora found himself reaching for one of the decorated folders at the bottom as Axel presented them to him.

"Perfect choice," he commented to Sora, sounding satisfied. He shoved his bag aside and made room for himself and Sora on the bed, who sat with his legs tucked under him as Axel shifted close, shoulders touching, and pointed to the cover as Sora lifted it to study. "This is one of my earliest portfolios. I used this one to get into college, actually. There will be _tons_ of Riku in here. He was my muse back then."

Sora cast a quick glance at him, hesitating, somehow feeling like it was a little wrong to have this shared with him. He didn't know what was beyond this colorful cover, but it was a world and a Riku he didn't know. Axel just waited, watching him patiently. Biting his lip, he turned his gaze back down to the cover, running his fingers over the uneven surface. Curiosity won again. He pulled it open, the glue of the binding giving a little _crick_, and he flipped past a few introduction pages of self portraits and stuff that looked damn professional even though this had been done before Axel had been given a professional job.

"Wow," Sora breathed, pausing on an image of a younger Axel with wet hair hanging in his face as he stared up through his locks at a camera high over his head. It was kind of a creepy angle, but it had personality and unnamed emotion behind it.

"The next one is better," Axel urged, moving to turn the page for Sora.

And it was.

Sora found himself staring down at a black and white photo of Riku _smiling_, and though it was quite a close up, there was enough revealed in the photo that Sora could tell he was on a bed, under a blanket, and he was naked. Beyond the shadows lingering under the blanket, Sora could spot a bare hip and shoulder, Riku's messy hair hiding most everything else. He looked so happy there... and really young. Sora looked at the date, counting back at least four years. Riku had been fifteen? It was an exceptionally intimate image because of its raw emotion and soft shadows and the fact that the boy in the picture was in bed naked, and something nagged at Sora about it. Probably because he hadn't been the one to take it... But he loved it.

"That's still one of my favorites," Axel said, but he didn't provide any background information on it. Sora wasn't sure he wanted to know, anyway.

Nodding, Sora murmured a, "It's amazing," before turning the page again. This time it was a row of Riku pictures, all of them the same year, showing Riku cross-eyed while trying to hold a spoon on his nose, Riku licking whipped cream off his thumb while looking at an object in the distance, Riku curled up in a blanket and reading a thick book, and Riku sitting with his knees tucked to his chest as he stared out a window with a wistful expression. All of them were from angles that Sora wouldn't have expected, only corners of objects hinting where Riku might be. The focus of all of these drew directly to Riku's intense eyes.

When Sora leaned closer to study the last photo, Axel pointed to it. "He told me later that, as I had taken this one, he had been thinking about this island."

Sora's gaze flickered up, meeting Axel's with surprise, but Axel only offered an inclined eyebrow. Returning his eyes back to the last photo, Sora studied Riku's wistful expression more closely, wondering. Something warm curled inside of Sora's heart, and he smiled. Maybe he had known this Riku after all.

They went through a few more portfolios, Axel pinpointing the later scattered images of Riku with ease. He also managed to locate a few of Leon, Irvine, Sephiroth, and Cloud. Axel had a few more of himself as well, but never as a professional model. Sora's attention did linger on a few of his new friends, but it was always eager for the next Riku image. The later ones, of him working, always depicted him with a faraway shadow in his eyes, as if he really did want to be somewhere else. Maybe that was the 'model' look, but Sora preferred the older images of Riku, the ones of him without any masks.

Axel eventually came across the images that Sora had first seen of Riku in the magazines. The "Velvet Sea" spreads of Riku, Cloud, and Sephiroth. They were just as gorgeous and evocative as they had been a few days ago. Sora hadn't even thought to look at the photo credits for them, but after seeing some of the angles of Axel's other photography, Sora wasn't surprised he had been the eye behind the camera even though, Axel said, Sephiroth had arranged the positions.

"Sephiroth is really intimidating," Sora admitted with a sheepish grin. "One time, Riku made it seem like Sephiroth would try to rape me at first chance."

Axel laughed, shaking his head, turning the page to another spread of Leon and Riku, this one of the more provocative kinds. "You know," Axel said almost idly as he looked up, giving Sora an impish smile, "I've never been with Sephiroth. He doesn't target _everyone_. Most people who work for him don't ever get a chance to even see his loft, though everyone dreams of it. Hell, I wouldn't mind having a go, but he trusts me more with my clothes on."

Returning the smile, Sora stretched out on the white bed, pulling open one of the latest portfolios. He didn't even think about it when Axel got up and started shuffling through his stuff. Sora spent the next few minutes staring at another picture of Riku, though this one seemed to be completely candid because Riku looked absolutely livid in it, and part of the photo was cut off by Riku's middle finger. It was kind of funny, except it had been snapped in such a way that he could tell Riku was serious. Aside from the happy photos from before, this was the first picture that had depicted Riku with any kind of real emotion. What had happened...?

A sudden flash of light made him leap straight off the bed, looking around in a blind panic, and when the afterimage began to die, Sora shot Axel an affronted glare, hating it when people took pictures of him off guard. Axel wasn't paying any attention to him now, though, his eyes trained to the LCD screen of the digital camera he had just used on Sora.

"Hey, not too bad."

Sora, his irritation forgotten, moved next to Axel to peek into the screen and look at the picture. It was from another strange angle, this time from below, focusing on Sora's face—his lips, more specifically, which he had been chewing at the time. The look on his face was definitely pensive, but there was something else on it, an emotion he didn't really recognize as his own. He frowned, studying it as Axel spoke.

"I generally don't like the results my digital cameras give, but this was faster. What do you think?"

Sora realized he was biting his lip again and stopped. He wasn't sure what to say. "I don't like getting my picture taken," he murmured, brow knitting. "I look weird. What's with that face anyway?"

A laugh was his response, and Axel pulled the screen away, playing with the camera a moment more before handing it to Sora, who gave Axel a blank expression, not sure what he was supposed to do with the expensive piece of equipment that would likely end up breaking if left in Sora's hands for more than two minutes.

"I hated getting my picture taken, too," Axel said, nodding towards the camera. "So now I'm the one who takes them. Occasionally it's nice to do portraits, but... I like studying other people. Why not give it a try?"

Sora took a moment to stare at the camera. "...I don't see why not," he said, managing a smile as he held up the device, studying the different buttons and things. He had no clue how to use it, but he suddenly felt powerful just holding something this hi-tech in his hands. "What do I do?"

Axel snapped out of his grin to move close and help him. "Oh, right, I forget you people exist."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Shut up and listen. This triggers what kind of flash to use..."

And five minutes later, Sora was completely lost, but he at least knew how to zoom and actually take a picture. He was no photographer, but he decided to try taking a picture of Axel by standing on the bed, catching an angle from above with Axel looking into the camera with just his eyes. When the image showed up on the LCD screen, Sora was actually impressed with himself, and even liked how the perspective made Axel's tattoos stand out. As Sora stepped back onto the floor, Axel looked in over his shoulder, whistling.

"Pretty good for a first try, Sora. Maybe you have a natural eye?"

Sora shook his head, smiling as he handed the camera back. "Nah. But I wouldn't mind a few more lessons. I think I like it."

If Axel was surprised, he didn't show it. He slapped Sora's back and headed towards one of his camera bags. "Yeah, definitely. Any time Sephiroth doesn't have me out chasing seagulls, I'll be free," he said with a laugh. Pausing, he glanced at Sora, his smirk falling into a friendly kind of tilt that Sora hadn't seen him give yet. "I had fun. Next time, we'll start you on getting past Riku's defenses. Yeah? I have to get settled in before dinner."

Nodding, Sora flashed him a pleased grin and lifted a hand. "Yeah, deal. See ya at dinner, Axel," he said, turning to leave.

As Sora left the White Room, Axel started an upbeat whistling, and it followed as he moved down the hall. He paused when he saw that the door to the Black Room was standing wide open and that Sephiroth had looked up and spotted him. D'oh.

The silver-haired man was sitting in a large leather armchair, his white shirt and pale hair against the ink black room creating another stark contrast, though Sora admitted he'd be able to stay sane longer in a black room than a white room. Sephiroth had been flipping through what seemed to be a stack of papers and photos, but he had hesitated in mid-pageturn, and now he and Sora were unknowingly in a staring contest.

Sora blinked, glancing away, but instead of leaving, he found that he wanted to at least say something to this man who seemed to so effectively rule the lives of his friends. "Did you... find an interest in blitzball after all?" he asked.

Sephiroth's suspicious gaze seemed to soften, but it could have been a trick of the light. He did nod before going back to his stack of stuff. "Yes, I have already found a promising youth. Tidus Albright?"

"Oh—"

Sora found himself gaping as two and two matched up and made a very obvious and potentially dangerous four. Oh God, what had he sentenced Tidus to by sending Sephiroth after him? His expression didn't escape Sephiroth's notice, who arched a brow in question.

Sora wet his lips, trying not to be awkward. "Well, he's a friend of mine," he explained lamely.

Sephiroth smirked then, something crossing his face that hinted that he knew something about Tidus that Sora didn't. Whatever it was, Sora didn't have time to think about it, because someone cleared a throat right behind him. He jumped slightly, turning to find Cloud there.

Oh great. Cloud and Sephiroth. It was time to leave.

Wordlessly moving aside for the blonde, Sora nodded a farewell to Sephiroth and hightailed it out of there, knowing exactly where he was going.

Riku's room was almost completely silent. Quietly making his way across the floor, Sora paused in front of the bed where Riku was now hugging a pillow, fingers curled loosely in the plush material. His hair was softly framing his face, and his lips were slightly parted, his face tilted just enough for the setting sun filtering through his blinds to hit his cheek in soft sunspots. It almost made his hair glow.

Smiling, Sora studied him for a few minutes, his eyes watching without really doing so, his mind traveling back to everything they had been through this past week. Pictures didn't fade, but memories did, and eventually the details would become hazy, gray, lost to time. Sora wished that somehow he could preserve these fresh memories of Riku forever, like Axel had been able to with his photos.

But what did he have?

Slowly, feeling his heart fill with warmth, he lifted his hands, forming a rectangle with his fingers. Focusing on Riku's pretty image within the rectangle, he pushed one finger down, taking a picture with his mind, wanting to capture the innocence on Riku's face forever. The click of his fake photograph echoed in the quiet room, filling another of the little holes in Sora's heart.

-o-o-

* * *

_  
° Aquastrides – a type of "aqua sock" or swimming boot used for blitzball in this story. Thanks to Dark Ki for the original brand name!_

You'll notice that this chapter took a slightly different angle than usual, but we're finally coming to that point in the story where it really takes on the qualities of a long-running shoujo or BL manga. Will there be side stories? Probably. Prestories? Eventually. Focus on non-main characters? Yup. But Riku and Sora will remain the main focus, so don't fret. I never intended to throw the story out at you and get it over with quickly, though, so those hoping for quick resolutions will be frustrated. Many times. It's not quite as fun if there's no waiting involved, y'know?

Questions? Complaints? I love you, don't hurt me. ;O;


	14. Ch 14: In the Doorway

_Author's Notes:_

**MERRY CHRISTMAS! **And a very _very_ _**very **_belated 4th birthday and happy 1800 reviews for A Complete 180°! I kept making plans to update, but every time I did, something got in the way and ate up all my time. I was really busy this past year and a half, but I'm finally straightening my life back out.

I'm **not** quitting this story. Really. I want to get to the end just as much as you want me to (and there's still a lot to go). I received tons of emails and reviews asking and begging me to update, and each of them made me smile. I'm glad that this story has so much support even after it's been neglected for so long. Thanks for the continuing support, everyone!

A few months ago, I reread the entirety of this fanfic and edited the first thirteen chapters—altering dialogue, catching inconsistencies, and tweaking characterization I didn't agree with anymore. It made me realize how much I've changed these past few years, both in writing and preferences. I'm now much happier with the story! I'm sorry this update took so long, but hopefully I get back into my writing groove very soon.

Thanks to my amazing betas for their huuuuuge help with this chapter. Oh, and Artemis Riley belongs to J.E. Jones, who let me borrow her for personal amusement, and the designer brand Starberry belongs to Aoi Nikko, who let me borrow it for the same reason.

* * *

_**  
Chapter Fourteen: In the Doorway**_

-o-o-

When dinnertime approached and no one intended to wake Riku up, Sora decided to skip dinner as well. Not only did he want to be there when Riku woke up, he didn't want to sit through a dinner where his mom would probably try to sell him to Sephiroth or something.

Riku was still sleeping soundly even after the five hours he had been passed out. Sora had been watching him for a while now, long after sunset, his eyes still studying the soft curves of Riku's face. He couldn't pinpoint what exactly it was about Riku that held his attention, but he carried such a dangerous allure even when he was awake that he did remind Sora of a mermaid. His mom used to tell them stories about those watery temptresses with their enchanting features—their glittering hair, moon-pale skin, jewel-colored eyes, and bewitching voices.

Yet despite how pretty he was, he was by no means girly. Riku did have a masculine build that left him hard to mistake as any woman. Sora was well aware of it. He had already felt the silent strength behind Riku's body on more than one occasion, like back there in the storage closet. Especially those _arms_...

Sora's gaze slowly traveled down one arm, admiring Riku's bicep, to the hollow of his elbow, down to those long fingers half curled in the sheets. Then he squirmed, his body still remembering how those fingers had felt against him, and he had to look away to keep his mind from wandering to all those times he had spent alone with Riku.

Practice sessions. _Hah_.

Things had gotten a lot clearer recently. At first everything seemed like it had been a big set-up, but Sora wasn't so sure anymore that Riku had planned on revealing his sexuality to his aunt like that. He had said that had been the plan, but for some reason Sora got the feeling Riku had never expected it to work or go that far. The way Riku had reacted to his aunt was one clue, and so was the way Riku's eyes would light up whenever Sora went along with whatever he said... kind of like Riku had never expected Sora to play along.

_Riku..._

He was still such a mystery. Sora hadn't learned much from his interrogations, just that Riku had had at least five lovers, and that according to _some _people's standards, five wasn't very many.

Sora had to wonder if _Riku _thought that five seemed like a lot, or if it was as big of a deal as he felt it was. How serious had those relationships been? Riku was only nineteen, so... who knew.

If the people Sora had met here were any indication of what the city was like, he and Riku had grown up in entirely different worlds.

He had come to realize that maybe relationships and sex weren't as sacred as his close-minded community made them out to be. Here it was only acceptable for boys and girls to date each other—but Riku had been quick to break that notion out of Sora. He had also broken Sora's convention for public displays of affection. Holding hands and kissing were fine here in public, but... making out, groping, and sex? Those were supposed to be behind closed doors, rarely brought out into the open.

The only times Sora had been exposed to those, aside from television, were in the high school locker rooms whenever the guys had shared information about what girl had the best whatever or had boasted about their latest conquests. But Sora had never been a part of those conversations. He had sort of skipped over all that.

Did that make him naïve or weird? Was his lack of experience at his age something to be ashamed of? Hadn't Sora only wanted a relationship with the girls here because he had been lonely? It was like he hadn't developed an interest in physical relationships at _all _until Riku had shown up. Sora remembered what Kairi had suggested about him possibly only being interested in Riku because Riku had been the first person to show interest in him, and maybe it was true. Maybe he really was only Rikusexual because he didn't know how to be anything else.

But at the same time, Sora didn't want to be anything else. He couldn't see himself with any other person, male or female. Riku made him feel different—in a good way. Like when Riku was paying attention to him, Sora felt like he was the most important person in the world. He never felt like that with anyone else, not even his mom, who often acted like he _was _the most important person in the world.

He liked the way Riku made him utterly comfortable yet squirmy and excited at the same time. Sora was beginning to love that sense of surrender, like giving in to Riku and indulging in the attention and stimulation somehow gave his life more meaning. He even liked the way Riku tended to get carried away even after promising he wouldn't, as if Sora could make him lose those inhibitions just by being himself.

Man...

He'd really changed.

In a lot of ways, Riku had taught him more about himself in seven days than anyone else had over the past eighteen years. Even if Riku were to walk right back out of his life and return to Atropos with Sephiroth and the others, Sora would never be the same again.

Riku had made it clear that Sephiroth did have the power to disrupt Riku's plans here, but if Riku was forced to leave Sora's side once again, Sora knew what he wanted to do. Eleven years ago when Riku's parents had died, Sora hadn't had the power to stop that ferry from taking Riku away from him. Maybe he still wasn't strong enough to stop what the future might bring, but this time, if Riku stepped onto that ferry to leave him again, Sora would go with him.

As brief as it seemed, they had had enough time together for Sora to rekindle and even deepen the fondness he had once had for his best friend. Only a week had passed, but all of those experiences and all of his revelations had led him to this point.

He wanted to be with Riku.

Just by sitting here watching Riku sleep, Sora felt like he was finally seeing the world clearly, almost as though every day, every moment before this had been spent in a room of monochrome. Now that Sora knew what he wanted, he was already seeing new colors. All he had to do was strip away his remaining insecurities and step through that gray door into the unknown. He was tired of lingering in the doorway.

Today, he decided, he would pass that threshold, and tomorrow would be the first day of his new life.

-o-o-

Leon didn't like most people, but there were a few, a very select few, he downright despised. Most of _those_ people had done something to him in the past to warrant that hatred. Only one person had earned his hatred before he had ever met him.

That individual was Axel.

Years ago when Riku had first told him about Axel, Leon had detested him. When he had actually met Axel for the first time, that hatred had quickly grown into revulsion. Each meeting since then had only deepened that feeling.

And when Axel had shown up for dinner that evening, Leon had known that he would be facing some kind of Axel-related incident. He was right, but at least Axel had the decency to wait until they were alone before he made his move.

Seiya had just left the room, and Leon was helping clear dishes off the table when he heard that gratingly familiar voice behind him.

"You know... I'm sure I'm not the only one who noticed, but, uh... Seph and his boy toy didn't show up for dinner."

Riku had told him time and time again to ignore Axel because giving him attention only provoked him, but what Riku didn't understand was that Axel went out of his way to irritate Leon. Besides, ignoring Axel only made him even more annoying.

Leon continued stacking plates. "Your point?" was his attempt at a reply.

"You can't tell me you're not curious as to _why _Spiky keeps giving into Seph like that," Axel laughed, ducking his head into Leon's line of view.

Why the hell did everyone keep bringing Strife up in front of him? Just because they now tolerated each other didn't mean he wanted to know anything about the man beyond what he had to know just to continue tolerating him. He especially wasn't interested in the sordid details of Strife's volatile relationship with their boss.

"It's none of our business," he snapped. He pushed Axel's grinning face out of the way and took the dishes to the kitchen where Seiya was.

She was busy putting leftovers into sealable containers, and she thanked him when he placed the stack of plates on the counter for her. "Thanks, hun, you're such a big sweetie." She still sounded congested, but he was finally recovering from her cold judging from how she wasn't wandering around with tissues stuck up her nose anymore. She set the dirty bowls in the sink and wiped her hands clean. "I'm going to go home for a bit to do laundry, but I'll be back later to wash these up."

She didn't know it, but he was planning on taking over dish duty so she could rest. Though the woman's personality was completely different, sometimes Leon couldn't help seeing pieces of his own mother in her. But maybe that was just him being hopeful.

"Don't push yourself," was all he said as he brushed past her.

When he returned to the dining room, Axel wasn't in sight. He started to relax as he moved to the table to continue cleaning it off, but as soon as he reached it, he felt the air shift behind him, and knew who was there.

It was just like Axel to try to sneak up on him just to annoy him.

"But you _are _curious."

And it was just like him to pick up the conversation as if Leon hadn't tried to end it.

"No," Leon sighed. "I'm not."

He'd been awake for over thirty-six hours working his ass off to make the house presentable for Sephiroth's arrival, and he was _not _in the mood for Axel's shit. Now that he wasn't expected to deal with guests anymore, Leon just wanted to finish cleaning up so he could go to bed and sleep.

But as he gathered up the drinking glasses, he unfortunately couldn't ignore the way Axel was hovering over his shoulder...

"How can you not be curious?"

...or speaking into his ear.

He turned and shoved past Axel and still managed to balance three glasses in each hand as he started back towards the kitchen. He didn't even give Axel a spare glance.

"Aww, come _on_, humor me!" Axel tried to goad.

Didn't the pest have anything better to do?

No, wait. Maybe it was better that Axel was bothering him instead of preying on Sora or waking up Riku. Axel may have had everyone else fooled, but Leon had been the one there to pick up the pieces of Riku's life when Axel had broken it. He didn't want Axel screwing with Riku's heart again.

And with Sora in the mix, things could only get worse. The boy had already caught Axel's interest. Sora wasn't one of Leon's priorities, but he didn't want to see the kid get hurt because of one of Axel's stupid antics. Hopefully Sora had enough sense to stay away from the eccentric redhead.

Leon didn't. He probably should have just left Axel in the dining room, but his sense of duty (and perhaps his sense of masochism) called him back to finish cleaning despite who was waiting for him beyond that doorway.

When Leon returned, this time nothing was said right away. Axel now leaned against the long dining table and openly studied Leon, who approached the table calmly and began gathering the unused silverware and napkins. Axel did and said nothing for a few seconds, and Leon almost eased up.

Almost. With Axel around, the silence rarely lasted. Usually it meant he was thinking, and with thinking came nosiness, and with nosiness came questions.

"Now that I think about it... what are you doing here anyway?"

And the question had come.

Minding his own business, Leon remained silent.

Axel continued without prompt. "Does Riku still need someone to hold his hand whenever he's pursuing another of his silly fantasies?" He paused, his smile widening. "Or do you have some secret ulterior motive?"

Leon's hands froze on the table.

Now Axel was digging _too _much.

Fine. If he wanted to have a tête-à-tête that badly, he could have one. Leon would give it to him.

He met Axel's eyes, his own narrowing. "What are _you _doing here?" he returned. Instead of giving into Axel's prodding, he'd turn the damn conversation around on him.

Axel lifted his hands in a disarming gesture. "I'm just here on business."

"Bullshit," he growled. "You must have seen where Sephiroth was going. You wanted to meet Sora."

Axel didn't have to be in on Riku and Leon's plan here to know how special Sora was to Riku. Axel had no doubt learned all about Sora years ago from Riku. That's how Leon had learned about Sora, anyway. He knew Axel couldn't be as in the dark as he was pretending.

"Heh, actually..." Axel sat on the edge of the table and glanced out into the hall as if expecting Sora to be there. "I'd forgotten all about that. I hadn't made the connection between this place and Sora until I heard his name." His smirk grew knowing as he returned his gaze to Leon. "But I asked _you _what _you're_ doing here."

Not looking him in the eye, Leon gathered the rest of the silverware as he mulled over Axel's question.

What _was _he doing here? That was complicated.

He knew the main reason he was here, and he knew the reason he had given Riku. Both were true, but Riku wasn't aware of the real truth. Leon kept that closely guarded. Riku just thought Leon had come with him because it had been _his _plan and because Riku needed the support. Well, that was partly true. Leon _had_ tagged along to help Riku, but that was only on top of him just wanting Riku to be happy.

Regardless of who Riku ended up with...

But Leon didn't know how to explain all of that out loud. Plus, he couldn't give away too much because he didn't want to provide Axel more bait to fish deeper.

"Well?" Axel prompted when Leon didn't reply right away.

He avoided Axel's scrutinizing gaze as he answered with the only thing he could think of that didn't leave himself open. "Supporting Riku."

But Axel was quick to pick at that as well.

"Really now?"

"Yeah."

Axel released a skeptical hum. "See, I just don't believe that. If you're supporting Riku like you say you are, you'd be trying to hook Sora up with Riku, soooo... shouldn't you be, uh, elsewhere?" he asked. His cheekiness was turning into something more vindictive; it showed in the way his smile looked painted on his face, as if for show, and his eyes reflected none of the humor from before. "Like, not _here_ with Riku."

Leon knew exactly what Axel was playing at, and he didn't like this turn of the conversation. "Whatever," he muttered. Instead of letting Axel gain control of this strange battle of the wits, Leon left the table and entered the kitchen to put his items away. He set them on the counter and hesitated for a moment to grasp his thoughts.

A voice in the back of his mind told him to just let Axel be. He could even sneak away and go to bed early as planned, and it would be pure bliss because Cloud likely wasn't going to be sleeping in there tonight.

But for some reason, he couldn'tjust turn his back on Axel. Axel would just think he was right, as always, and besides—Leon still didn't want to give the asshole more incentive to pry.

So despite that subtle warning inside of him, Leon returned to the dining room to fetch the tablecloth. Axel was still seated on the table and stared at Leon as he reached around the redhead to pick up the salt and pepper shakers. It wasn't long until Axel breached the subject again.

"Seriously, Squall, don't you love him?"

Leon wanted to laugh at the irony of that question, but that would have encouraged Axel even more. Instead, he focused on his task, determined not to satisfy Axel with a reaction. He set the shakers on the shelf of a china cabinet nearby and tried to decide how to go about getting Axel off the table so he could retrieve the cloth.

Leon's silence still didn't deter Axel.

"It must be torture to give him over to someone else just like that." Axel was still pretending to be playful despite his underlying tone.

Leon's glare was beginning to feel permanent. "It's not," he said brusquely. He started pulling the cloth off the table, but the part under Axel's ass didn't budge. "Get off."

Axel stayed put. "I bet it _is _bugging you and you just don't want to admit it." The bastard actually crossed his legs and draped an arm over his thigh as if he planned on staying there all night. It also made him look as patronizing as he sounded.

Axel had no right to be talking to him about this, and he was pretty sure Axel knew that. The asshole knew he was walking a thin line.

Clenching his jaw, Leon jerked the tablecloth, tugging it from beneath Axel and almost sending him tumbling off the table. Even though Axel caught his balance, Leon was contented enough with that. He began folding as he thought about what Axel was up to.

If Axel was hitting all of Leon's weak spots, Leon wanted to hit Axel's. He knew just what to bring up, too.

"Unlike _some_ people, I consider his happiness more important than mine."

And though his remark probably hit its intended mark, Axel didn't show it. He only gave a casual shrug. "All right, so I looked out for number one."

If possible, Leon's hatred for him intensified even more. "You broke his _heart_."

"And I broke his heart," Axel admitted, though he didn't sound sorry about it at all.

"_Twice_," Leon stressed.

"Twice." Axel's smile spread. "That just makes me more honest than you."

Asshole.

Leon took the tablecloth with him as he made a move towards the kitchen.

But Axel still wasn't done with him. He hopped off the table and trailed behind Leon, the playfulness from his voice fading. "I think I know why you're here," he announced, entering the kitchen close behind him.

Damn it, Seiya still wasn't back. If she was around, Axel probably would have toned down a bit or at least had an alternate focus. As it was, Leon was at Axel's complete mercy here. That subtle voice in the back of his mind was warning him again. He needed to leave this conversation and lose Axel.

"_Not_ interested," he said, his exasperation rising. He turned to leave again after putting the cloth away.

Axel moved ahead of him, blocking his path so he couldn't escape. His green eyes were thinned, and they were almost _challenging_ Leon. "You still have that faint hope that Riku's going to realize Sora's _not_ everything he's dreamed of all these years."

Leon slowly folded his arms across his chest and set his jaw, and even though his own gaze didn't waver, he felt like Axel had just stabbed a thumbtack through his heart.

Axel was right on target.

Back home, Riku had always talked about his best friend from when he had lived on Destiny Islands, and that one little promise he'd made with him...

That one little promise meant more to Riku than anything or any_one _else.

Leon still couldn't believe something as simple as a promise could hold so much power over so many lives. He thought it had been a joke when Riku had first told him about the no-kiss-initiating, but no. No joke. That was when he had realized the real reason why Riku had never officially wanted a relationship with him.

Riku's heart already belonged to someone else.

"That's it, isn't it?" Axel laughed. His lips pulled into a condescending little smirk. "You think he'll go running back to _you_ like always."

Another thumbtack of truth drove home in Leon's heart.

That one promise Riku and Sora had made had kept Riku's heart in a cage for years, and only one key existed.

Axel's hadn't fit. Leon's hadn't fit. No one else's had fit.

Sora had to be that key. Only _he_ could unlock it—

Or break it.

And that's exactly why Leon had suggested this plan to Riku. If the cage couldn't be unlocked, maybe Sora would break it. That would finally leave Riku's heart open for others.

Like Leon.

He just couldn't admit it. He _wouldn't_ admit it.

Like he somehow knew he was right on track, Axel wagged a finger in Leon's face. "Well, it's not gonna happen _this_ time, Squall."

Roughly brushing Axel's hand away, Leon pushed past him to enter the hall. "I've had enough of this," he snapped, but he could feel the growl that laced those words.

He made it three steps before Axel called after him, a hint of desperation there in his voice.

"Staying here is only going to make you miserable!"

Leon paused. He had to.

Listening to Axel was like letting more and more of those thumbtacks sink into him, but he had to stop himself from leaving at least until he heard this. Hearing this would make his fear real. It was stupid of him to do, but he had to stay, had to listen, had to verify this fear.

Everything he had planned, everything he had hoped—it all rode on one slip-up he hadn't counted on:

The plan he had come up with, the one he had organized just to help Riku get over Sora and move on with his life...

The crazy thing might actually work the way Riku wanted it to.

Sora might actually... _like _Riku.

Axel had had no way of knowing this, but he had struck the truth. Leon wasn't helping Riku woo Sora. Leon just wanted Riku to be happy. If that meant Riku actually got with Sora, so be it. There would be no victory, no Riku running back to Leon because Sora rejected him, no happy ending for Leon.

Axel obviously wanted to make that clear. Now that he had Leon's complete attention, Axel skipped all pretenses. "And when _you're _miserable, Riku's gonna know what it is." He let it hang for a moment, and the humor in his voice died completely. "And you know what'll happen then, right?"

Leon half turned but didn't glance at him.

"He's going to get rid of you," Axel said. He was grim, and it worked. Another tack drove home. "He's going to choose Sora, not you, and you'll be miserable, you'll be _alone_—" He paused, and the sharpness in his voice pierced more painfully than any of his attacks before. "..._just_ like the rest of us."

And there it was. The fear.

All this time, Leon had avoided thinking too hard about it, but now that someone had put it into words for him, he couldn't look away from it.

He had a good basis for keeping it so well hidden. Leon was no good at expressing emotions, and having them well hidden generally protected him from snoopy people. He didn't want anyone to be able to read him like an open book.

Once in a while, however, he came across someone who could read closed books like himself.

Axel was one of them.

And Axel knew exactly how to hurt him the most.

Leon closed his eyes. Took a deep breath. Relaxed.

Then, without a word, he walked away.

Axel didn't follow him this time.

-o-o-

When Riku stirred from his nap, he couldn't remember when he had fallen asleep in the first place, let alone when he had made it to his own bed. It was dark, that much he could tell, so a few hours must have passed. But why did he feel more tired than he had before he had rested?

He remembered Cloud and his cell phone. He remembered getting the news that Sephiroth had found them because Cid had ratted them out. He remembered staying awake all night to prep the house for Sephiroth's arrival. He remembered Sephiroth showing up.

Oh, and Axel.

Fuck... _Axel_.

Okay, not a pleasant memory to wake up to.

He pressed a hand to his forehead and tried not to feel like shit.

"Urgh..."

"Riku?"

Riku's eyes snapped open. He hadn't been expecting company.

He turned towards the shadowy figure he realized was lying on the bed beside him. "Sora?" he asked, wondering if this was real or some stupidly hopeful dream. But when he felt Sora move next to him, a mixture of confusion and happiness swept over the remains of his drowsiness, and he realized he wasn't just imagining things. Sora was here.

Wait. Why _was _Sora here? Had he been waiting for Riku to get up?

"That's me," Sora said. He sounded so cheerful that Riku couldn't help smiling. "Don't go falling asleep on me again, Sleeping Beauty," he teased, poking Riku's nose.

_Sleeping Beauty._

Riku's happiness fled as old memories resurfaced, images of a redhead with green eyes taking Sora's place before him. Something uncomfortable twisted inside of him.

He sat up and raked a hand through his hair, avoiding looking at Sora. "Weird. Axel used to call me stuff like that."

"He did? Oh." Sora paused as if mentally connecting dots, and when he spoke again, he sounded apologetic. "Well... I won't do it again if it bothers you."

"It's alright. Just caught me by surprise," Riku said. He didn't want to discourage Sora over something that trivial. Stupid Axel for showing his face here and already screwing things up. Damn. Now that he thought about it, Axel could have already done a lot of damage while he had been sleeping. "What... time is it?"

"Probably past eight." Sora shifted on the bed, and Riku glanced at him again as he too sat up. "You slept really hard... You didn't even twitch when Leon carried you up here."

"He... did _what_?" Riku asked, surprised.

"He carried you up here."

"I heard you, but..."

That wasn't like Squall at all.

At least, that's what Riku wanted to say, but he knew it wasn't completely true. Squall wasn't like that towards most people, but Riku wasn't "most people" to Squall. Riku just hadn't expected Squall to continue acting like that. Not after the small quarrels they'd gotten into lately, what with Riku's sexual frustration and Squall being defiant. But Squall had been right about not catering to Riku anymore. With Sora in the equation now, things really were supposed to be different between them... Riku couldn't rely on Squall for a lot of those things now, not if he wanted a real chance with Sora.

As much of an annoyance as it was to Riku, Squall was still right to distance himself from Riku. However, if he really had done what Sora had said—_carried _Riku up there... what did that mean? Was he just being nice, or was it something else? With Squall, it was always hard to tell.

"He offered to move you," Sora said helpfully.

Riku just nodded and smoothed his hair back again.

For some reason, waking up in his bed to Sora acting like Axel and talking about Squall made him feel like he was in some sort of twilight zone. Never mind Sephiroth already being there, Riku was now half expecting Ansem to make an appearance somewhere. Then he'd _really_ know he was dreaming.

"What else has been going on?" he asked, worried about what he might hear.

Sora gave a thoughtful hum. "Well... I think Sephiroth made some sort of deal with Tidus for some Blitzball thing..."

Blitzball. Tidus. That made sense. Riku had heard from Seiya how talented Tidus was at the sport. If he really was that good, no doubt Sephiroth would be interested. Still, that couldn't have been everything he had missed.

"That's it?" Riku asked.

"Uh... We missed dinner?" Sora continued hesitantly. "Aaaand..."

It was apparent he was fishing for stuff to tell Riku, almost like he was trying to cover something else up. Suspicious. Even more suspicious: the "we" in "we missed dinner." Why had Sora missed dinner, too? How long had he been in here with Riku anyway?

"Oh!" Sora did a small bounce as he remembered something. "Axel showed me some of his stuff. He even let me use one of his cameras."

Oh God.

Not Axel and Sora.

Riku knew exactly what Axel was capable of, and Axel got a big kick out of charming the inexperienced type—_Sora's _type. Letting Axel corrupt Sora was the lastthing Riku wanted.

He suddenly felt sick. Wrapping an arm over his stomach, he leaned forward and clenched his eyes shut, breathing deep. _Calm down, _he told himself. _It's probably nothing. _

Fuck. But what if it wasn't?

"You... okay?" Sora asked, and Riku felt a hand rest against his shoulder blade.

His hand was smaller than Squall's, warmer than Axel's... He didn't want to compare Sora to either of them, but it was difficult not to.

Sora's touch was also completely _not _tentative. It was so unconditional, in fact, that it disappointed Riku. Even if he knew Sora was straight and not interested in a real relationship with him, he couldn't help looking for little signs that might give him hope.

"Yeah," he replied after a moment, then cautiously glanced in Sora's direction. He could tell Sora was watching him—as if his eyes had long adjusted to the darkness in the room. "How long... have you been here?" he asked. Maybe, just maybe, if he looked hard enough, he could find one of those reasons to hope.

He felt Sora straighten beside him. "Erm... dunno. I guess about two hours. The sun set a while ago, so..." Sora trailed off into an awkward silence.

Awkward was good. Encouraged, Riku kept going. "Why didn't you go eat dinner?"

Sora's head turned away before he spoke again. "I wasn't that hungry. Besides, Sephiroth intimidates me. I'd rather be in here."

Again, suspicious. Riku decided it was safe to tease him. "Watching me sleep?"

Though it was too dark to see if that had earned him a blush, Riku did see Sora's eyes widen, and that was good enough for him. A flicker of hope was better than nothing, which was what he had thought he'd had.

A soft knock on the door interrupted him before he could try to provoke Sora again.

"That's probably Leon." Sora moved for the edge of the bed to escape.

Riku let him answer the door and wasn't surprised to hear Sora's friendly, "Hey Leon," a moment later. The lights came on. Sora stepped out of the way to let Squall in, but Squall stayed just within the doorway where Riku couldn't get a good look at him.

"There are leftovers in the fridge. Should still be warm," Squall said. "Also, Sephiroth just called my cell. Tell Riku that he wants to see him... in his room."

The news made Riku's stomach clench.

Sephiroth no doubt wanted to talk to him about the situation here on Destiny Islands, like why Riku had asked so many of the models to accompany him for the summer. As much planning as Riku had done for Calm Bounty itself, he had neglected coming up with a believable story to cover it up and avert Sephiroth's attention. He hadn't even expected things to come to this, really.

"Oh, well, he's awake now," Sora said as he glanced over his shoulder. "Riku?"

That was his cue. He reluctantly slipped out of bed and stretched, feeling a few joints pop. When he finished, he noticed that both Squall and Sora were closely watching him now. They were probably thinking the same thing about him going to meet with Sephiroth. He smoothed his shirt out and turned towards his bathroom. "Go ahead and get some dinner, Sora. This might take a while..."

"You going to be okay?" Sora wondered, and he did sound worried. "I mean..."

"He's not going to eat me or anything," Riku assured. "I've dealt with Sephiroth plenty of times in the past, and I'm still breathing." He smirked at them and disappeared into the bathroom to wake himself up more; plus, he didn't want to go talk to Sephiroth looking like an ogre.

When he returned to his bedroom, Sora was already gone, but Squall was waiting for him. He was leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded, and as Riku crossed the room to his closet for a nicer shirt, he felt those gray eyes following him. Riku recalled what Sora had said about Squall carrying him up here, and he once again wondered what it might mean.

He realized that aside from the boarding house and Sora and himself, he hadn't really stopped to talk to Squall about much of anything. That could explain for a lot of Squall's behavior since Squall was the one he usually went to for everything. In fact, it had been his idea to come here and find Sora in the first place, not Riku's. Ever since arriving here, Riku had been so focused on Sora, Sora, Sora that he hadn't wondered how Squall might be holding up...

But Riku knew that even if he asked Squall how he was, he would just get a curt "I'm fine," or a "Why?" which never provided Riku with an in depth answer. The only times he could squeeze Squall's real emotions out of him were when he and Riku fought, which wasn't often.

He decided to test the icy waters anyway. "You carried me up the stairs," he commented. He slipped his shirt off and reached for a dark sleeveless zip-up. He heard the scuff of boots against the floor as Squall approached him.

"Sora looked uncomfortable."

Riku paused, fingers on the zipper's pull tab. "Did he...?"

Cool air brushed his bare back before he felt body heat close to his. He tensed when Squall's hand rested against his shoulder blade. Larger than Sora's. Warmer than Axel's. And there he was comparing all of them again. Riku cautiously turned to regard Squall, whose fingers shifted up, lightly curling against his bicep.

Their gazes met. Squall's expression was as unreadable as usual.

"Yeah," Squall said. "Like he was trapped by a cat sleeping on his lap." Then he offered a little smirk, and his hand slipped away.

Riku exhaled and relaxed, not sure why he had felt the need to be so guarded. It was just Squall. He smiled back at the tease before he pulled his shirt on and zipped it up to his collarbone. "I was exhausted," he said. "But after last night and today, I think we all are." He fixed his hair and sighed. "I just want this to be over with already..."

"The... house?" Squall asked.

"No, no, just Seph," Riku said with a half grin. "We just started on the house. I don't want to go back just yet."

A somewhat uncertain smile crossed Squall's lips. His gaze shifted downward, almost as if he were falling deep into thought. Riku was the one who touched a hand to his arm this time, and Squall's muscles tensed much like his had moments ago. Maybe this awkwardness wasn't just on Riku's side, then.

"Something wrong?"

Squall's eyes met his again, then averted. "I'm fine."

As Riku had expected. "You know... if something's bothering you, you can tell me," he tried to reassure. "I don't want you to close up on me, not like last time."

This time Squall released a quiet sigh. He rested a hand over the one Riku had on his arm and gently pushed it off. Again, Riku's stomach tightened with worry. Something was definitely bothering his friend.

"Squall..."

"Are you happy?" Squall asked.

Riku hadn't been expecting the question. It threw him off at first, but when he thought about it, he realized that Squall had meant if he was happy in general, not about the situation.

_Was _he happy? He had finally gotten his aunt off his back, and he had his own home away from home now. He had also gotten to meet Sora again after years of wondering, and Sora seemed like he still wanted to be friends with him after the crazy stuff Riku had put him through. Earning his own life away from his aunt and finding Sora had been two of the largest goals of his life, so didn't he have every right to be happy?

Then why did it feel as though something was missing? Maybe this issue with Sephiroth was bothering him more than he had realized.

"I think... I could be," Riku said hesitantly. He realized how uncertain that sounded, so he added with reassurance: "Things have turned out better than I expected, at least."

Which was true. Sora could have rejected him right from the start. He had no idea what would have happened if Sora hadn't been so open-minded from the beginning. He probably would have packed back up and left. For now, he was content. He could be a lot happier, sure, but he'd lived through a lot worse.

To ease the tension that had grown between himself and Squall, he tried to joke. "Ask me that again after I've talked to Sephiroth." He knew it wasn't funny, but as nervous as he was about the confrontation, he couldn't avoid Sephiroth forever. Thinking about meeting with Sephiroth was also easier than trying to understand his own feelings.

He started to leave the room, but Squall's voice stopped him.

"Riku."

Riku paused in the doorway and turned to look back at him. "Yeah?" he asked. He rested a hand against the doorframe where Squall had been leaning minutes before.

He thought he recognized the solemn expression he saw on Squall's face then, but he couldn't quite place why. He knew Squall wanted to tell him something, but whatever it was, he had a feeling it was one of those meaningful truths that could change everything between them. He feared that change.

But as they searched each other's eyes, Squall's eventually shied away once again. "Never mind," he murmured, and the moment ended.

Though Riku nodded, he said nothing. He was silently grateful for Squall's apprehension. Without it, he was sure he would have lost Squall's friendship a long time ago. Riku had never been good with confrontations.

Like right now.

He left the room, his footfalls silent in the corridor as he approached the Black Room where he had earlier assigned Sephiroth's stay. The door was open a crack. The light from the hallway fell through it, but it illuminated nothing in that deep black.

Damn. How fitting for such an intimidating man. Riku wished he had come up with a plan for this conversation, but unfortunately, no amount of mental prep could steel himself for Sephiroth's presence. No matter what Riku did, Sephiroth always managed to give him butterflies.

If Sephiroth really had just called Squall's cell, then no doubt he was awake in there. Might as well get this over with...

As soon as he knocked softly, he heard the subtle shift of sheets and the creak of floorboards beneath the plush carpet. Sephiroth appeared in the black and opened the door, and Riku wasn't surprised to find him shirtless or with his hair up in a loose bun. Riku rarely saw Sephiroth in casual circumstances, and even more scarce were the times he had seen Sephiroth so underdressed. With the way his pants were unbuttoned and half zipped, it wasn't hard for Riku to deduce what his boss had been doing all evening. Or rather, whom he had been doing.

Now that the door was open farther, more light had spilled into the dark room, and Riku could make out a pale body amongst the black sheets on the other side of the room. He didn't have to see the head of hair to know who it was; from how many photo shoots he'd done with him, he would recognize Cloud's bare ass anywhere.

Funny how Cloud could blame one man for completely ruining his life, only to let that man hunt him down halfway across the sea, and immediately give in to his whims. Destructive attraction at its finest. Apparently Cloud was blaming the wrong person for ruining his life. Maybe all of that anger he harbored for Sephiroth wasn't actually directed at _Sephiroth_.

Sephiroth followed the direction of Riku's gaze, and a slow smirk pulled at his lips. "He usually has more stamina than that," he commented in a murmur. Then he stepped into the hall to speak with Riku alone. "Makes me wonder what you've been having him do around here." He silently closed the door behind him.

When those sharp green eyes met Riku's, he felt the telltale fluttering in his gut, and he knew he was going to lose this confrontation.

-o-o-

"Hey Prince Charming."

Sora nearly dropped his plate.

Up until that point, his only company had been the sound of water rushing over his dirty dish. Sure, the house had a lot of guests at the moment, but he hadn't been expecting anyone to show up in the kitchen this late at night.

Turning off the faucet, he turned to glance at the tall figure standing just within the room.

Axel had his hair back again, and though he had changed clothes, he was still dressed down—or at least dressed down compared to the rest of the people here. His clothes were more like Sora's: normal, comfortable... and well-loved, judging by the hole in one knee of his jeans and how faded the guitar graphic on his t-shirt was. He had a messenger bag slung over one shoulder, and one of his thumbs was hooked in his front pocket. Casual all around. Axel always seemed so easy-going. Why did Riku dislike him so much?

When Axel saw Sora studying him, that knowing smile from earlier crossed his face. "Didn't see you at dinner."

"Huh?"

"You said you'd see me at dinner." Axel started towards him, and his smile turned roguish. "But I guess you had better things to do, eh?"

Oh, right. Axel had said he'd help more with Riku. Sora hadn't even thought about that, he had been so caught up in la-la land. With a grin, he set his plate on the drying rack. "Kinda, sorta. It wasn't planned."

He heard Axel drop his bag onto the small kitchen table. Judging from the loud thunk, whatever he had in that bag was heavier than Axel had made it seem. Sora finished drying off his hands and watched him pull open his bag and dump the contents out. A stack of portfolios, albums, and magazines slapped onto the tabletop.

Copies of the magazines _Omnislash _and _Eternal Session_, catalogues for Pumpkinhead and Dogstreet's seasonal styles, sleek binders labeled _Destiny'woven_ and _Ars Arcanum _and _Starberry_...

Though each of them had vastly different covers and styles, they were all obviously high fashion.

And every single collection seemed to call out to Sora to come closer, take a peek inside, see what treasures Axel had hidden within them, how much of Riku he could find amongst these hundreds of pages of photographs.

The lanky redhead dropped into a chair, crossed his feet on the table, and laced his hands behind his head. He looked smug, and for good reason. He had just dangled the perfect bait in front of Sora's curiosity, and Sora was eager to take it.

Sora took a seat close to him and reached for the nearest magazine, a June issue of _Eternal Session _that had a summer theme. Cloud and a beautiful woman he didn't recognize were featured on this cover, both wearing beach stuff—Cloud with name brand swim trunks and a hemp bracelet of stylized seashells that Sora suspected were fake, and the woman with sunglasses perched above her wavy brown ponytail and sporting a provocative black bikini made out of what looked like dyed fish skin. Even the straps that tied behind her neck looked elegant with their woven ribbon and silver chains.

Sora didn't buy how fancy the style was. He couldn't picture either of them on a beach here, not looking like that. He somehow doubted that bikini had even been tested for beaches—real beaches, anyway. On the positive side, the bikini somehow made her seem more sensual and alluring than it made her seem promiscuous, which is probably what most girls would look like in a bikini like that.

Mystery Girl had her arms wrapped around Cloud's neck, her painted nails laced through his hair, and her body pressed flush against his. He, on the other hand, only had one arm curled around her waist. He faced the camera head-on, but she was turned mostly towards him, all except her eyes; both of them gazed directly at the camera with come-hither expressions.

Cloud seemed so distant compared to her... Maybe she was just a random model, but Sora had been under the impression Cloud had only been posing for Sephiroth's more suggestive magazines, so this cover confused him. He glanced at the date in the corner. June of this year. Wow, this was really recent!

"Who is this?" he asked, pointing to the woman.

"Oh, her?" The mischief in Axel's expression returned. "Cloud's ex. She's _so_ fucking beautimous..."

She was. Sora nodded, now studying the woman more closely. If this magazine was that recent, Cloud probably had been cheating on her with Sephiroth for a while before they posed for this together... No wonder he looked so distant even though it was just an image. Then again, Sora could have just been reading too much into it because he knew who they were now. It could have been the photographer's decision to pose them this way.

Actually, now that he thought about it, he could tell that this wasn't one of Axel's photographs. It didn't feel like his style, and Sora even said so.

"Good eye," Axel commented as he held a hand out for the magazine. Without thinking, Sora handed it to him, and Axel flipped it open to search for something. "I'm impressed, kid. I actually don't do that many fronts. Those are reserved for bigshots like Seph—at least when he feels like doing his own shoots." He paused, then started flipping back, passing page after page of scantily clad men and women. "Where is it..."

"Why wouldn't Sephiroth feel like doing his own shoots?" Sora wondered.

Axel's eyes rose to meet his. "Dunno. Personally, I wouldn't trade photography for _anything_." He shrugged. "Sephiroth used to be the best of the best. Anyonewho knew anything about photography knew his name and how fucking fantastic his work was. Hell, you've seen how young he is." He shook his head and went back to skimming through the magazine. "But after he took over Jenova Enterprises and started runnin' everything, he stopped doing as much photography. Not sure why... I guess he got so stressed out that he lost his inspiration or whatever. He didn't start up again until recently—like a few years ago, right after I got my internship there." A secretive smile curved his lips. "I always suspected that a certain someone had something to do with that."

Sora watched his fingers dance from one page to the next and thought about Cloud's alluring expression on the cover of it. "Cloud?"

"Nah, Cloud came after."

Frowning, Sora then recalled what Axel had just told him. Sephiroth had started taking pictures again after Axel had gotten his internship. "You?" he asked.

"_Flattering_, but wrong again, my little prince." Axel's knowing smile returned as he tapped the side of his head. "Think hard, now. Sephiroth literally dropped everything, rescheduled all his appointments for three days, and packed his bags just to fly, drive, and ferry way the fuck out here where there's no wireless internet, crappy phone reception, and creepy-ass, nosy, islander cultist civilians with zero fashion sense and a desperate need for air fresheners because this place _reeks _of fish." He slipped his feet off the table and leaned closer to Sora. "Now, besides Blondie, who's got the power to drag that man anywhere, let alone _here_, all because he hadn't said a word he was leaving Atropos and taking Seph's precious faves with him?"

Okay, even if Axel hadn't just spelled it out for him, Sora still would have been able to guess by process of elimination. The new question was... "But why Riku?"

The answer to that may or may not have been obvious. Why Riku? Probably for all the same reasons Sora had stared at him for hours tonight. But he wanted to hear Axel's side of it. Out of everyone Sora had talked to, Axel was the only one who seemed the easiest to get answers out of. Irvine was a close second, but from the sound of it, Irvine didn't know nearly as much about Riku as Axel did.

Axel's expression lost some of its playfulness. Looking contemplative, he sat back and crossed his arms. "You know... funny you ask that. Riku used to ask the same thing. 'Why me? There's nothing special about me.' That kind of crap."

Then Axel tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling and fell silent for a moment.

Sora had the feeling that there was a lot more behind Riku's words that Axel wasn't going to tell him, almost like Riku had, once upon a time, hated all of the attention he attracted. When had that changed?

"Well," Axel said as he came out of his thoughts, "from personal experience, I can answer your question. _Why _Riku." Axel's long fingers lifted into the air and fanned out against the fluorescent light, and as Axel studied his silhouetted hand, a red eyebrow drew inward as if he were deliberating on the past. "There's just... _something_ about him. He's like an action scene in a good movie, or a famous painting you end up traveling miles to see in person, or a paragraph in your favorite book..."

He lowered his hand, then met Sora's stare, completely serious.

"You can't look away because you might _miss _something. You wanna study every single brushstroke and smudge of paint, relish every single diction choice, every sentence structure, every image illustrated by those words. It doesn't matter if it's a movie or a painting or a book—or a photograph or even a _person_. You memorize the details in order to try to understand how those details create _life. _Kinda like, by doing all that, you can carry a piece of it inside of you wherever you go."

Axel gave a wry smile, closed his eyes, and shrugged again.

"Riku's one of those things that people can't help wanting to study, wanting to touch, wanting to _want_. That's why we stare. That's why he's such a popular model. That's why Sephiroth picked up photography again." A dry laugh escaped him, and he shook his head. "That's why so many people want to fuck Riku, too. It's also why he acts the way he does nowadays. If he didn't act that confident, more people would try to take advantage of him. This way, he's the one who takes charge."

Axel's gaze met Sora's again, and this time his impish smile returned. He set the magazine on the table and slid it to Sora. On the photograph spread in front of him, Riku was lounging in the surf of some unknown beach with golden sand and turquoise waves. His yellow and blue designer swim trunks were sitting very low on his hips, and he was staring off into the sea as if he belonged there.

Sora's fingers traced over the glossy page as he studied it just like Axel had described: as if wanting to memorize every detail. Axel was right. No wonder his heart always danced and fluttered and skipped a beat when he saw or spoke to or talked about Riku. Maybe it already carried that piece of Riku inside of it...

But if that were true, why did Sora still want more from Riku?

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Axel leaning across the table to whisper to him.

"Get it now?"

Sora smiled and closed the magazine.

He did.

-o-o-

Riku could count on one hand the number of people who had any ability to throw off his confidence. His ego's biggest adversary was the man now standing in front of him, looking no less downright sexy than he had the first day Riku had met him—though Sephiroth had been wearing more clothes back then.

Sephiroth wasn't just his boss. He was his enemy. His king.

And in a twisted way, his hero.

Not all, but much of what Riku had learned over the past few years had come from or was because of this man in some way. Riku both admired and hated him, respected and feared him. At the moment, however, it was mostly fear.

Sephiroth pulled his bun loose and drew his silvery locks over his shoulder, then handed Riku the black hair tie. "Show me your face."

Riku silently took the tie and, keeping his gaze leveled with Sephiroth's, he gathered his hair up into ponytail. He wasn't sure why Sephiroth wanted to see his face, but he wasn't about to argue. It was probably one of his weird—

"Who hit you?"

...shit.

Riku was used to seeing the subtle cut on his lip, and he thought the bruise on his cheek had faded already. If Sephiroth had noticed it, apparently not.

"Don't worry about it. I deserved it," Riku said, his gaze already faltering. But as he looked away, Sephiroth grabbed his chin and forced his face forward to get a better look at him. Riku felt his stomach drop. "I'm _fine_. What did you want to talk about?"

Sephiroth released him, but Riku knew it wasn't because the man believed him. He wanted to get down to business.

"What you're doing out here," he said coolly, closing the distance between them without actually touching Riku. He leaned close to speak directly to Riku's ear, and his low tone sent a shiver right down Riku's spine. "Or why you had to hide it from me. You disappoint me, Riku. You know better than that."

"You're my boss, not my mother." With just one step, Riku backed against the corridor wall. "Where I go and for what reasons aren't any of your business."

He knew he was treading dangerous waters when Sephiroth's eyes narrowed. Sephiroth pressed his hand against the wall beside Riku's head, leaned over him with hardly a hair's breadth between them, and lowered his face to meet Riku's at eye level.

"You made it my business by luring the pick of my litter away."

Riku tried not to tense at Sephiroth's close proximity. He could smell the man's cologne and the trace of sweat and sex beneath it, see his individual lashes and the flecks of blue in his eyes, and feel the warmth of his body even through his own clothes—and he remembered just how dangerous Sephiroth could be.

"I didn't lure anyone. They _wanted_ to come," Riku insisted. His eyes narrowed right back. "Besides, Squall was my friend before he became one of your pets."

Sephiroth's smile was amused. "Legally, I am more important in Leonhart's life than you are," he pointed out. "If you think your questionable relationship with him makes any difference, give your lawyer a call. I'm sure he will laugh before explaining otherwise for you." He folded his arm against the wall and leaned even closer, his smile gone. "Now what silly excuse do you have for Cloud?"

Riku held his breath and kept his gaze on Sephiroth's. He had dug his own grave here, but the hole was already too deep to escape. He may as well bury himself alive because _someone _had to stand up to this man. Wetting his lips, Riku steeled himself and lifted his chin.

"Cloud wanted to get away from _you_."

"Cloud doesn't know what he wants," Sephiroth replied, not missing a beat. He didn't even bat an eyelash, he was that sure of what he was saying.

But as intimidated as he was, Riku wasn't backing down yet. "Then maybe Cloud needs his space so he can figure that out."

That was when Sephiroth's tone grew cold. "If I wanted an opinion about Cloud's needs, I wouldn't go to a nineteen-year-old. You are a self-possessed _child_. The only needs that concern you are your own." When Riku opened his mouth to defend himself, Sephiroth cut him off with a testy, "Stay silent."

Riku set his jaw and glared, then opened his mouth again. "I'm not going to stand here and get lectured by someone who's just as _self-possessed_ as I am."

Sephiroth gaze hardened, but he didn't stop Riku. Instead, he warned him in a dark, stern voice:

"Tread carefully."

This time Riku exhaled, more than aware he was lucky Sephiroth wasn't just up and leaving right then and taking everyone with him. But as fortunate as he was, Riku still didn't know when to quit. "You don't care about Cloud," he pressed. "If you did, you wouldn't have fucked up his relationship with Melissa."

"...Cloud knew what he was getting into." Still calm, still smooth, but now that look on Sephiroth's face was borderline murderous. "He chose his path, just like you chose yours. Cloud is to blame for how Miss Pearce reacted, and she was the one who requested the contract termination."

"Contract termination?" Riku repeated. "Don't you mean Melissa _quit_ and kicked Cloud out because of what she caught you doing to her _boyfriend_?"

Sephiroth scoffed then and pulled back, putting space between them at last. "I forced no one, not even Cloud. He fled because he couldn't endure the truth."

"Right." Riku put a hand on his hip and bent forward. "And you came all the way out here to drag him back there. If anyone's acting like the child, it's _you_. Your pet ran away without your permission, so you came after him!"

Sephiroth's hand flew out before Riku could stop it, and he abruptly found himself being pinned against the wall, Sephiroth's fingers digging into his shoulder. His green eyes were burning with an intensity that slew Riku's confidence and paralyzed him, like an eagle snaring its prey.

"You do not walk on water, Edenbrook," Sephiroth said in a venomous tone. He was even using Riku's last name. Never a good sign. "As valuable as you are, you are not the finest I have. If you want to stay part of the crème de la crème, you best learn when to submit and when to _challenge_. I am not expecting you to bootlick, but you are _not _my superior."

And just as suddenly as he had grabbed him, his hand slipped away. Riku tried to relax, but Sephiroth kept him pinned there. After that display of power, being this close to him under these circumstances was almost enough to make Riku's legs give out. He was sure Sephiroth could feel his panicking heart.

Damn it.

He hated how Sephiroth could do this to him.

He hated how weak he became in front of him.

_Only _Sephiroth. It was always only Sephiroth.

Riku swallowed past the knot in his throat and finally averted his gaze, his fight gone. Moments later, he felt fingers tracing delicately through his hair, almost in admiration—

But when he glanced back at Sephiroth, those fingers fell from his hair. Their eyes met, that intensity still simmering in Sephiroth's. Then Sephiroth began to move, his face leaning in, and at first Riku felt it more than he saw it, until Sephiroth kept going—closer, and closer, and—

Riku clenched his eyes shut and held his breath.

Sephiroth's hair brushed his cheek, but the lips never came.

Just his voice: deep, resonating, tinged with a dark breed of amusement.

"One day you could hold the beau monde in the palm of your hand," he whispered, his breath touching Riku's ear. "But until that day, you're merely one of my elite. That means I _own _you." A pause. Another breath. "Understand?"

All Riku could manage was one shaky nod.

Sephiroth stepped back and released him this time.

Silence passed between them, so Riku concluded that was his dismissal. Relieved, he exhaled and swallowed again, already knowing he'd be uneasy for the rest of the night. With Sephiroth watching him, Riku avoided eye contact and turned to leave.

"Riku."

He hesitated.

Back to first names, were they?

He didn't glance back at Sephiroth, but he lifted his chin to let the man know he was listening.

"I need to make some calls," Sephiroth said. "Then we will discuss what we are to do about this silly... summer vacation of yours."

A sliver of Riku's hope rekindled. The fight wasn't over? Sephiroth still wanted to discuss things with him, even after what Riku had just done?

He turned to look at Sephiroth to discern how serious he was about negotiating, but Sephiroth was already facing the door again. Confusion now brewing inside of him, Riku watched as Sephiroth quietly pushed it open and disappeared into the shadows of the room.

The door closed again, and Riku remained alone in the corridor, lost in his thoughts and emotions. He recalled that hint of amusement in Sephiroth's voice there near the end and, much like he had with Squall, he wondered what exactly it meant.

An uneasiness filled him as he left the hall to find Sora, but it was the strange excitement that accompanied it that he could not shake.

-o-o-

"Ever heard of Pumpkinhead?"

Axel's question came out of the blue. Sora was still flipping through _Eternal Session_ to look for more familiar faces, but aside from Cloud, there were none. He closed the magazine to search elsewhere. He spotted the two catalogues, one for Dogstreet, the other for Pumpkinhead. Okay, maybe the question hadn't been out of the blue after all.

"Not really, no," he answered and reached for the thick book.

On the cover were several models wearing clothes that looked like they belonged in a fairytale but were designed for modern wear—lace-up tunics and frilly shirts, pants covered with belts and zippers and laces, boots and sandals with thick soles and strange designs, and stylish accessories like hats, arm warmers, neckties, dangling chains...

The oddest thing about the designs was that, though they were so different, they all meshed very well. They also looked like they weren't directed towards an average customer.

"This shirt looks familiar," he said, pointing to a slim-fitting white lace-up.

"Probably," Axel replied. "Squall and Blondie shop there a lot recently. So does Riku sometimes. He also modeled for this one..." He reached out just as Sora started to open the catalogue, closed it, and took it away, ignoring the confused look Sora gave him for it. "You'll want to look through this one later," he said by way of explanation. He smirked and handed it back. "Capiche?"

Still somewhat confused, Sora took it and set it aside for later. "Uh, sure..." He eyed the Dogstreet catalogue and the jerseys on the front. "And that one?"

"Ah..." Axel picked it up. "Riku's not in this one, but it has some clothes you might like. Y'know, in case you ever wanna come to Atropos for some quality shopping. Remember Rai and Fuu, Seph's cronies? Well, not _his_ cronies, but that's another story."

Rai and Fuu... They were staying in Selphie's Moogle Room, weren't they?

"Oh, right. Rai's shirt said something," Sora recalled. "Was that Dogstreet?"

"Yup." Axel set the catalogue on top of the Pumpkinhead one. "Keep this one, too, cuz you'd look good in this style. You strike me as that type of guy."

Sora studied the figures on the cover more closely, wondering what he'd look like in the clothes. He remembered how different he had felt when Cloud had let him borrow some clothes before his fake date with Riku. That kind of change was sorta... empowering.

"Thanks," he told Axel, offering a smile.

A shuffle of feet in the doorway made both of them turn, and Sora was surprised to see who had found them. Riku didn't look pleased that Axel was alone with Sora. Sora wanted to ask how the talk with Sephiroth went, but Axel pretended he could care less. Ignoring Riku's presence, he set one of the thin, labeled binders in front of Sora. Ars Arcanum. He'd heard Axel and Irvine talking about this name.

"Arc," Axel said in a lofty tone. "Riku's faaaavorite designer name. The designer, a classy guy who goes by Ansem, works directly with Seph." Axel lifted a hand to whisper conspiratorially with Sora. "Ansem _adores _Riku."

Sora was aware that Riku could hear Axel and was sure Axel knew as well. Was Axel _trying _to pick a fight?

Still, Sora found this stuff interesting... Hadn't Leon and Axel mentioned Ansem as being one of the men Riku had been with?

"Buuut we'll save that story for another day." Axel opened the binder for Sora, who was a bit disappointed he still wasn't going to get the whole story behind the Ansem thing. Maybe Axel didn't even know it.

Sora leaned over for a better look at the binder. Just from the first page of photos, he could tell these clothes were very high class, but unlike the high class designers he'd seen in newspapers and other magazines, these actually looked wearable, comfortable, and—well, _good_. "Arc's designs are always in high demand. Recently, Ansem's been branching out to other areas like colognes and bags and leather—oh, and underwear." He stooped towards Sora and lowered his voice to a secretive tone again. "Oblivion brand, which Riku wears. I should know."

Sora automatically thought back to that one magazine spread he had first seen Axel's name on, the one of Riku in those briefs. He squirmed a little, remembering the image in detail, from Riku's firm thighs to the outline of Riku's... Well. They hadn't been Oblivion brand, but still. Now that he thought about it, Riku had been wearing brand boxers in that one spread of him and Leon... They had been shirtless in that one.

"But—" Looking smug, Axel sat back and folded his arms behind his head again. "I'm sure you'll discover that soon enough. There's plenty of Riku's skin in that _Omnislash _issue."

Sora glanced at the magazine with interest, and that was when Riku finally spoke up, his tone a clear warning.

"Axel."

Doing his best to not blush, Sora avoided Riku's direction. He was tempted to open _Omnislash_ in front of Riku to see how he would react, but with Axel here, it probably wasn't a good idea to test Riku's nerves. For now, he'd appease Axel's teasing. Then he'd find a way to excuse himself so he could talk to Riku alone.

He closed the Ars Arcanum binder, set it on top of the stack of other things Axel was letting him borrow, and next chose the thickest album in hopes of finding more candid shots. Maybe it was strange, but he wanted to see more like the one of Riku giving the camera a middle finger. Axel's words from earlier kept running through his mind. That was the Riku he didn't recognize, and he felt like... If he studied those pictures closely enough, they _could _help him understand Riku more.

He opened right to the middle, surprised when a familiar face grinned up at him. "Hey, it's Tifa," he said as he studied the snapshot. She had her arm slung around the shoulders of a dark-haired man whose grin was even bigger than hers, and both of them were lifting margarita glasses. Cute. He read the names beneath the picture. "Zack Fair and Tifa... Lockhart?"

"Heh, Tifa. So you've met her?" Axel asked, scooting closer.

Sora nodded. "Yeah, she was here. She left right before you guys came." He smiled at the picture, already missing her constant arguments with Irvine. "She was funny."

"She's a great gal," Axel agreed. "Good cook. Also mixes some _mean_ drinks."

Curious now, Sora glanced at him. "Mean drinks?"

"Yeah. You know your buddy Irvine?" Axel laughed and turned the page, and there was Irvine in one of the snapshots, holding onto a decorated cowboy hat as he danced, surrounded by four women. "Those two are dangerous at parties. Tifa's damn skilled at making drinks that will knock you on your ass but taste divine. You can't even taste the alcohol. And, Irvine? He'll flirt with anything that moves. Even the most frigid people can get snared by his charm." Axel turned the page again, and when Sora looked up, Axel was watching him. "And I don't just mean his _sexual_ charm. Just a warning, if you ever get stuck in that situation."

Sora wasn't sure what that meant, but he filed the advice away for later. Riku remained silent as he watched them, but Sora felt a tension in the room and knew it was coming from him. Once again, Sora wondered what exactly Axel had done to warrant Riku's complete distrust. Sora liked Axel just fine.

He scanned the lively photos on the new page, admiring how Axel could somehow make ordinary shots into something worth staring at. He didn't recognize most of these names, but some of them stood out as much as their faces. Larxene Yeager was a pretty blonde sitting in front of a vanity, bent over to paint the nails of her cotton-separated toes, forever biting her bottom lip. Demyx Kale was on stage with a bass guitar, eyes squeezed shut and mouth open in an eternally frozen note.

Riku Edenbrook (ah, there he was) was sitting next to a petite woman, Yuffie Kisaragi, in an empty, brightly lit conference room. Both of them were seated distantly from the cameraman in the photo. Riku looked gloomy, and Yuffie was staring up at the ceiling in boredom. Sora recognized her from a few days ago when she had dropped Cloud off here at the house.

"Who's Yuffie?" he decided to ask.

"Ah—Yuffie." Axel laughed, then turned to look at Riku. "She's his agent. And Spiky's, too. Also the person who ratted them out to Seph."

Sora saw Riku's eyes narrow at him in a silent threat. Then Riku crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, reminding Sora distinctly of Leon right then. Best to move on and distract Axel some more before Riku got too jealous...

He flipped the page and one name immediately caught his eye.

_Ansem_.

No last name. Maybe Ansem didn't need one.

Sora inspected the photo to see what the man looked like, and he did a double take at what he saw. For one, though he wasn't sure why, he had been expecting a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair, but that's not what he saw at all. Considering he was the designer of what Axel had called _the _top brand name of brands, Ansem seemed relatively young even with silky white hair, which was whiter than Sephiroth's or Riku's. Another surprise: his skin was a milk chocolate instead of the I-need-more-sun pale that he had been imagining. What he_ had _been expecting was that he was smartly dressed and had a serious, handsome face.

He looked like he was directing the woman beside him, an Artemis Riley, to do something he needed because she looked just as serious, if not tired and a little intimidated as well. She was pretty and had nice wavy black hair, but from the way she wasn't quite as dressed up as Ansem, Sora suspected she wasn't a model. Probably a secretary or someone.

So this was Ansem, the designer everyone kept talking about... and the man that was apparently obsessed with Riku. He seemed kind of scary.

Axel, Leon, Irvine, Sephiroth, Ansem...

Everyone Riku had been with was confident, stylish, and older than Riku. Yet Riku had asked _Sora _to be his pretend boyfriend. Sora wasn't any of those things—he was just plain and childish and stupid. Well, maybe not stupid... It's just that he _felt _stupid in comparison to these people.

But then he thought back to what Riku had said a few nights ago during the blackout when they had been curled up in bed together.

_I came back for __**you**_

_I wanted you back in my life._

_I wanted __**you**_

Riku had proven that repeatedly since then with how desperate he seemed to touch him sometimes, with how jealous or worried he would act when Sora seemed to be getting too close to someone else...

Riku _did _want him.

Sora was new to all of this, but that was clear to him. What confused him was why Riku would want him when he could have stayed with any of the other people he'd been with... Why had he risked so much to come back here?

But on the other hand, when all of the _why this, why that _boiled down, maybe none of that mattered. Maybe what mattered was that Riku had come here looking for him, and he had found him. That meant Riku had taken the first step forward. Sora had already decided to stop being hesitant, so maybe all he needed to do was take his own step forward?

"What's up?"

Axel's question brought him back to the present, and he realized he had been staring very intently down at the photo of Ansem.

"Oh... nothing. Just thinking," Sora admitted. He didn't want to say anything more with Riku still watching them. Not recognizing any other names on the page, he flipped to the next.

Four photos of Riku waited for him, but these didn't have name tags on them. The first was of Riku and a timid-looking blonde girl. He was leaning over the large sketchpad in front of her, and she was blushing. The second was of Riku and Ansem; Riku was staring right at the camera, but Ansem seemed oblivious to the cameraman's presence, his gaze instead focused on Riku, whose mouth was open as if he had been right about to tell Axel off. The third depicted a side of Leon and Riku he hadn't seen before: they looked pissed at each other. Riku had his hands lifted in an angry mid-gesture as he said something, and Leon was leaning close to him to yell something back. All three of the pictures looked like they had been taken in public places, perhaps a corporation building or wherever Sephiroth ran his company in Atropos.

The last photo was of Riku alone, and he looked miserable with his head bowed and hair hanging in his face. Riku's hair and clothes were soaking wet, his whole body was tense, and with the way he had a towel clutched to his chest, it looked like his world had ended.

Sora lingered on that picture, wanting to know the story behind it.

When he glanced up to ask Axel and Riku, he saw a glimpse of movement at the door behind Riku. Sephiroth had come to visit.

Riku wasn't aware of Sephiroth's approach yet. He did see Sora's shift of focus from him to past him, but it wasn't until he heard the deep voice in his ear that Riku actually gave a start.

"There you are."

Riku snapped his head around.

Now fully dressed, Sephiroth regarded him with a businesslike air. Back in the kitchen, Sora and Axel were speaking in low tones again, and Riku stepped in front of Sephiroth to try to divert the man's attention away from them. If Axel was taking this much of an interest in Sora, Riku didn't want to see what _Sephiroth_ might do if he too became interested.

Sephiroth did gaze past Riku to see what was going on, but other than the faint smirk he gave them, he didn't pay them much mind. Fortunately. He focused on Riku once again. "I made the calls."

That didn't sound good.

Riku didn't want Sora to overhear this, but thankfully Axel was keeping Sora mostly distracted with more photographs. Which was weird. He hadn't thought he'd find a reason to be grateful for Axel trying to kiss up to Sora or whatever the fuck he was doing. Maybe by the time he got back, Axel would be done...

"Let's go to the den," Riku suggested in a quiet voice, and he headed there without waiting for Sephiroth to agree.

Sephiroth had very little to say to him for once, and he kept it to the point. Maybe being curt was Sephiroth's way of showing his generosity—or making it a point that he was being very, very lenient towards Riku this time.

He was letting Riku keep Cloud and Squall as his employees, but only for the summer. He expected them all, including Riku, back in Atropos before the start of the Winter rush. Sephiroth had already arranged it with their agents.

Riku nodded and kept a straight face the whole time, partially too stunned to do much else, but also because he was scared to open his mouth and somehow make Sephiroth change his mind. Riku had been expecting another argument, not _this_. And so when Sephiroth finished speaking and dismissed him a few minutes later, Riku could only manage a soft thank you before Sephiroth brushed past him and left.

It was almost surreal.

First Riku had won against Sora and his mother, then against his own aunt, and now against _Sephiroth _of all people? Either these islands deserved that Destiny part of their name, or all this luck was leading towards something catastrophic. For now, Riku was going to count his lucky stars and make the most out of the time he did have.

Since it was still mid-August and the Winter rush for fashion didn't start until a few weeks after school started, Riku still had at least a month of freedom. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with Calm Bounty after that, or where he'd stay in Atropos (because he was definitely not going back to live with his aunt), but he'd figure it out before then.

Just one month left here, with Sora, trying to fulfill a dream he'd been dreaming for years.

A month would be long enough.

He hoped.

Riku tried to swallow the nervous excitement inside of him, and he returned to the kitchen in hopes of telling Sora the good news.

Axel was cozying up even more to Sora. He had moved his chair right next to Sora's and had an arm around the younger boy's shoulders, and they were laughing together about something—probably the album they had open.

Riku's spirits immediately sank as he watched them. Sora looked so much more at ease with Axel than he ever had with Riku. How could such a flirt get away with getting that close to someone who was hardly used to being touched? Damn Axel... It was like he existed only to irritate Riku whenever possible.

"Haha, you should have seen the look on his face," the redhead was saying, and his fingers danced through Sora's hair to mess it up. Sora only laughed harder and batted his hand away, but Axel was quicker, easily pulling his hand out of the way. "You know, you should visit sometime. I'll treat you to a little makeover."

"Really?"

"Totally." The grin on Axel's face was audible. "You'd look great in some of Starberry's designs."

"What happened to Dogstreet?"

"Well, that too. Maybe even some Arc."

"That'd be great!" Sora said, giving Axel a toothy smile.

Wait a sec... Sora was _agreeing _with Axel about a makeover? Okay, now things were getting out of hand. Riku didn't want to let Sora near any of Axel's buddies back in Atropos.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded as he stepped into the kitchen, outright glaring at Axel, who flashed him a smug look when he saw how pissed off Riku was. "Sora isn't one of your _toys_, Axel. Stop playing with him, stop manipulating him, _stop _filling his head with your bullshit."

Sora's eyes widened at him. "But Riku—"

"S'alright, Sora," Axel assured. "Riku's just jealous, aren't ya, Riku?" He drew Sora closer to him, his grin turning more than just smug, but also vindictive. "_Sora _happens to like me. And I think he's got more balls than you did when you were new to the world. Since you don't appreciate him enough to fill him in on the shit that goes on in your life, I figured I'd give him a few lessons."

Sora gawked at Axel, then Riku, then Axel again, working his mouth to try to say something, but he only released a squeak when Riku snatched his arm and pulled him to his feet and away from Axel. His fingers tightened around Sora's arm as he poured every ounce of hatred inside of him into the glower he sent Axel.

"You're damn lucky you're Seph's pet photographer," he growled, pointing his free hand into Axel's face, "because I would have kicked you the fuck out of here _hours _ago if I wouldn't have to explain to _him_." He leaned close, not breaking eye-contact. "Stay the _hell _away from Sora."

Axel's lips curled a little more. "Why? I don't see your name on him."

From beside him, he heard Sora's tentative, "Riku?" and he wondered if maybe he was overreacting. But then he thought about the shit Axel had done to him in the past, and he realized that, no, this wasn't overreacting. This was protecting Sora.

Except...

Maybe Sora didn't need the protecting after all.

Riku was a split second away from landing a punch on Axel's smug face when he felt Sora wrench out of his grasp and take hold of _his _arm instead, almost as though Sora had known what he was about to do.

"Riku, it's not a big deal."

Riku clenched his jaw and took a breath, but it didn't help much. Axel was still sitting there, still grinning, still looking like he had won for some reason. He tried not to think about Axel, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from him.

Sora did it for him.

Riku found himself getting tugged out of the kitchen and into the hall, all the way to the stairwell, Sora's voice serious but sincere as he spoke on the way up the stairs. "Axel wasn't doing anything to me. He was just showing me some pictures and telling me who was who and stuff."

He brought them to a halt at the top of the stairs, and he looked up into Riku's face. The smile he gave Riku wasn't at all forced. The sight of such honesty made a lot of Riku's anger melt away.

"Sora... He was all over you," Riku pointed out, but it didn't have much bite in it.

Sora's smile spread as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I just got the impression that Axel was the overly friendly kind of guy. I didn't take it personally," he admitted. "Besides..." He laughed, and his look was earnest. "I'm not interested him at _all_, Riku. Even if he _was _flirting or whatever, there's no way it'd go anywhere. You should know better than that."

Suddenly, Riku felt very silly.

Now embarrassed, he lowered his gaze and sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I'm just... tired. And being stupid."

Even though he'd just had that giant nap, he did feel ready to lie down for a good night's sleep—if not to rest, then to try to forget how much of an ass he'd just made himself out to be. No doubt Sora was silently laughing at him.

"Maybe... you should just go home, and we can talk in the morning..."

That way Riku could collect himself some more and prepare what he wanted to say to Sora. After Rena had caught them together, they hadn't had a lot of time alone to straighten things out. They just kept getting worse and worse.

And he honestly thought Sora would agree.

"No."

Riku blinked.

Had he heard that right?

He lifted his gaze back to Sora's, and something warm tickled up his spine as he met those serious blue eyes. Sora's smile turned shy very briefly, but then it grew into something firmer, more confident. He looked... different.

"Actually, I'm going to stay tonight," he said.

Sora did feel more confident. He could sense Riku's hesitation, and it was easy for him to take advantage of it. He led Riku down the hall to the older boy's bedroom, ignoring the confusion radiating off of him. Sora could take his questions later. Right now, he wanted to do what he had been waiting to do all night.

He paused in front of Riku's room and released him. He nodded towards the half open door. "You first."

"Why are we up here?" Riku wondered.

"We need to talk."

That was all Sora provided. Riku seemed to accept it, his expression growing solemn as he nodded and turned to enter to his room. Sora watched after him, remaining in the hallway for a long moment.

His thoughts circled all the way back to earlier in the night when he had been lying in bed with Riku, thinking about the gray unknown of the future and how his insecurities had been restraining him all this time. One by one, he was finally shedding those insecurities. Riku had already offered him the future time after time, and he had hesitated in the doorway to that unknown each of those times.

But not now.

The time for lingering was over.

Sora stepped through the doorway, caught the handle, and closed it firmly behind him.

-o-o-

* * *

I know it's been a long time, but review? 

**Like No One's Looking**, which is the prequel/sister story about Riku's life in Atropos, is being written and posted as well. It focuses on Riku exploring his sexuality and trying to find his own identity (much like Sora in 180); it also includes his previous relationships and details the story of how he went from the shy, girly little Riku in Sora's past to the cocksure model in Sora's present.

**NOTE: **Please don't ask about Roxas or any new KH characters. Plans have been made for almost all KH characters. I'm always finding places to put new faces in, whether in this fic or LNOL (Riku's story), so _please_ refrain from asking about what characters will show up when. They'll probably show up eventually.


	15. Ch 15: His First Day

_Author's Notes:_

Thank you for your patience! This time it didn't take as long, to my relief. I feel a lot more confident about my writing than I did two years ago, let alone five years ago—and we _are _coming up on this fic's 5th anniversary.

I've received some questions about characters again, so if you want answers, check out my profile for a direct link to a FAQ where you'll find some answers.

**Like No One's Looking**, which is the prequel/sister story about Riku's life in Atropos, is being written and posted as well. Be sure to check it out! :D Now, onto the chapter!

* * *

_**Chapter Fifteen: **__His First Day_

-o-o-

The door shut with a resounding click and enveloped them in the darkness of Riku's room.

Riku's feet shuffled across the floorboards to the back wall, and Sora heard him fish around for the lamp before it switched on. Even though they were completely alone and in a private place now, Sora's confidence from moments ago didn't waver, but he did notice how wary Riku seemed.

Sora decided to be casual enough for the both of them. He kicked off his shoes near the doorway and flopped down into Riku's papasan chair, and when Riku sent him a questioning look, Sora only offered a happy grin. Some of the tension in Riku's shoulders eased out of him.

Sora waited until the older boy sat at the edge of his bed before he spoke up. "So..." He trailed off for a second when he noticed Riku's hands clench lightly at the sheets. Why was he so nervous? Well, Sora knew one way to breach the subject. "What did Sephiroth have to say?"

A dry laugh left Riku as he shook his head and fell back onto his sheets, Mr. Drama King style. "Well, I'm not packing up and leaving. Not yet, at least."

Not yet? Sora frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He wants me back in time to do the winter photo shoots." A heavy sigh. "Squall and Cloud would be coming back with me, so..."

In other words, this house—Calm Bounty—Riku's remodeled childhood home and pet project... would just sit here with no one to run it? After all of that work and money to turn it into a mini-boarding house?

"That gives me about a month here," Riku continued contemplatively. "I'm thinking that, next year, I'll actually _clear _a vacation with Sephiroth before taking off. I got here pretty late in the summer... It's already mid-August, you know? So maybe I'll aim for June next year."

He turned his head, silver hair hanging in his face, but Sora could still see the hesitant smile he was giving him. So, even Riku, with all his money and fame and friends, was uncertain about his future? At least, that's what it seemed like.

"So what are you going to do with this place for the other three seasons?" Sora wondered, taking one step at a time. He didn't want to throw the heavy questions at his friend all at once.

Riku's eyes shifted up to the ceiling. "I don't really know. Not yet, anyway."

"But you have a month to figure it out," Sora finished for him. He understood Riku's hesitance to think about it. "So then—when you go back to Atropos... what's your aunt going to do?"

The mere mention of that woman made Riku scoff and roll onto his side away from Sora. "I don't fucking care what she does. I'm not moving back in with her. Don't think she'd even want me near her, either, now that she knows I like dick. I'm an embarrassment to the family name, you know?" Then, more quietly, moodier: "I don't care. I'm old enough to live on my own now. Might move in with Squall or... get my own apartment."

True. If Riku really was that wealthy, he could easily afford his own place in the city, not just this one all the way out here on Destiny Islands.

"Your own apartment, huh?" Sora said. When Riku gave a soft, affirmative hum, Sora inhaled to steady his heart, wet his lips, and took a leap of faith. "Need a roommate?"

Riku's shoulders stiffened. Though he was turned away from Sora, Sora could imagine his eyes widening in surprise. He probably had been expecting Sora to let him waltz back out of his life after all.

Sure enough, when Riku rolled back over and sat up to gawk at him, those green eyes were wide, partly with disbelief, partly with a fervent hope.

"...really?"

And it was that hope on his face and in his voice that made Sora all the more certain that he wanted to do this. He sent Riku a teasing half smile. "You can't expect to just leave me here."

Riku's lips parted as if he wanted to say something else, but he hesitated, and Sora heard him draw in a deep breath before he finally found words to continue. "But—what would you do in Atropos?"

The look Sora gave him was humbled but still playful. "More than what I could do here," he admitted. "...Riku, everyone here already thinks I'm gay. You leaving won't change that, and I'd just be stuck here—shunned, like my mom, except worse."

Riku's brows knitted. "Worse?"

Sitting up more, Sora nodded. "People don't hate her for who she is; they just don't like how she never got married. But they'll hate _me_ for who I am—for being gay—even though I'm not." He shifted in the chair to face Riku and folded his arms on the edge of the bed, sighing. "I wouldn't be able to keep any sort of job I got. Couldn't continue my education here, either, because the nearest community college is like three hours and four ferries away."

Guilt passed over Riku's face, and he glanced away without a word. He probably hadn't thought about how all this would affect Sora's life.

Sora wasn't mad, though. He felt like a lot of opportunities were available to him now, like closing that one door on his insecurities had just opened up a dozen more. "At least in the city, I can get a job and maybe... eventually... you know, go back to school. Go somewhere with my life."

Now Riku's gaze focused on him again, sympathy there instead of remorse. Good.

With a reassuring smile, Sora lowered his chin to his folded arms. "When you leave, I'm gonna go with you. You said a month, right?"

Riku breathed out this time, visibly relaxing even though his voice shook a little. "Y-Yeah..."

Nervous again? Sora couldn't fathom why Riku would be apprehensive about _that_ if Sora himself wasn't.

Sora slipped off the papasan chair and, ignoring Riku's confusion, climbed onto the bed to join him. Even though Riku shifted to accommodate him, Sora felt a sudden tension between them sparked by the older boy's uncertainty. Sora could only imagine what the heck was going through Riku's mind right then—but whatever it was, Sora was tired of skirting around what he really wanted to know. Whenever he did, he just wound up with even more questions.

It was time to get some answers out of his secretive friend.

Settling on his knees, Sora sat in front of Riku and searched his hesitant gaze. "What's wrong?"

Riku wet his lips and didn't meet his eyes. "A little stunned, I guess. I never..." His mouth quirked, and he released a soft laugh. "I just never thought things would actually work out. When I got here, I didn't even know if you'd recognize me, let alone care to talk to me, or... go along with this crazy-ass plan. I was happy you still wanted to talk to me, let alone stopped by to see me."

He paused to glance at Sora finally, and the softness in his eyes made Sora's breath catch. That was affection there. Riku was nervous because he was happy and _embarrassed _about it. Wow... Sora wasn't used to seeing this side of him. It made his heart warm with a fondness of its own.

"And now you want to follow me home," Riku finished with a faint but happy smile. "I feel like I'm dreaming. This whole day has been—_**YA**__!!_"

Riku jolted and rubbed his waist where Sora had pinched him.

Grinning, Sora lay down beside him, his head propped against his hand. "Not dreaming."

And Sora had felt some definite muscle there beneath Riku's shirt and skin. He was reminded of that day a week ago when they had first been reunited in this room—with Riku moving boxes, shirtless and drenched in sweat because the AC hadn't been up and running yet.

At the time, Sora had been too shocked at discovering Riku was actually a guy to take the time to admire him, and even if he had, he wouldn't have thought to look at another guy that way. He'd seen Riku shirtless and barely clothed several times since then, even in all those magazine ads, but—each time, the situation had been impersonal or awkward or overwhelming.

Things were different now. _Now_, Sora kind of anticipated the next time he'd get to see or feel Riku's body up close and personal. He knew he'd still be shy about it, but... not as freaked out as he had been. Not anymore.

He felt like this strange friendship of theirs was back on the brink of becoming something greater, something far more _real _than it had been that day Riku's aunt had interrupted them. Sora was glad she had. Without her there to shake up Riku's resolve and allow Sora time to think all of this through, Sora might never have reached this conclusion on his own.

Though, it kind of did feel like a big dream.

"Apparently not," Riku said with another quiet laugh. He seemed more relaxed now, and he even shifted to stretch out beside Sora, mimicking his posture with his chin resting in his hand. "So you're sure about this?"

Riku's eyes searched his again, and Sora's smile widened. "You bet. Tell me about Atropos!"

"What do you want to know?" Riku asked with a lifted brow. He reached out to grab one of his pillows and used it to prop himself up better.

_Hmm. _That question was hard. Sora hadn't really thought about it yet. He wanted to know all about the place where Riku had been living for the past eleven years, but at the same time, he didn't know the kind of stuff to expect.

"I dunno..." he admitted. "Anything." Then he thought back to some of the conversations he and Riku had had with his mom. "Is it true you didn't have any friends?"

For a second, Riku seemed uncomfortable with the sudden question. He'd probably been expecting something about the city itself, not his past. But after a short stretch of silence, Riku answered, though tentatively.

"Well... I _did_ have friends, but..." His gaze shied away. "We all drifted apart for one reason or another. Some found girlfriends—or boyfriends—and some moved away for college..." Shaking his head, he sighed. "I always felt like—I was second best, you know? I couldn't keep real friends. Then one year, my best friend became my enemy, and... well. I stopped letting people get that close to me."

The lack of names clued Sora in. Was he talking about someone Sora knew? He had a feeling it was Axel, though the only evidence he had was the fact that Axel had been Riku's first boyfriend and now Riku hated him.

Fingers curling into his pillow, Riku closed his eyes. "People enter and leave our lives one day to the next, one year to the next... Some, I never saw again. Others, I would hear about from other people. It's kind of sad how fickle friends and relationships can be." Hesitating, he opened his eyes again, but he seemed to stare past Sora at something in the distance. "You know, the only one who's _stayed_ close to me is Squall."

There was that name again. Was Squa—er, Leon—whatever... Was he really that important to Riku? He remembered what Axel had commented to Leon earlier today—_"You always told me that you and Riku were never __**officially**__ together." _But Leon himself had said that he'd known Riku for about three years and had been as close to Riku as Riku would let him.

"Is it true you guys weren't really boyfriends?" Sora wondered.

Something strange crossed Riku's face then, a tinge of sadness in his eyes—or maybe guilt. "Honestly, I don't know what you would have called us. We just... were."

"Were?" Sora prompted. "Not still?"

"Were," Riku affirmed, his voice softer now. "He, uh..." He lowered his gaze again. "Well, it's complicated. I don't know how to explain it. He... means a lot to me." His fingers tightened against his pillow. "But he's not..." Another pause as he fished for a word. "He's not..."

"True Love's Kiss?" Sora offered with a small but lighthearted smile. "Prince Charming? Knight in Shining Armor?" After what Riku had told him earlier this evening about Axel always calling him pet fairytale names, Sora couldn't help seeing the parallels, as ironic as they seemed. Riku, the princess; Sora, the prince (or at least as Axel referred to him); Axel, the... well, Sora wasn't sure. Fairy Godmother, Wicked Witch? Sora would vouch for the former, but Riku would likely choose the latter. But then what was Leon?

At the fairytale mention, Riku's lips pulled upward, but only a little. "Yeah, exactly. And I think Squall knew that."

So Squall had been really important to Riku and probably still was. But they weren't boyfriends, and—from what Squall had said—they weren't physically close anymore. That seemed a little weird to Sora. He thought about one of the brief conversations he'd had with him a few days ago.

_"You didn't love him?"_

_"We understand each other. He helped me when I needed it the most, and I want to see him happy."_

Then, Sora had realized, _"You __**do **__love him."_

To which Squall had replied, _"But not the way __**you **__should." _And Squall had mentioned how fragile Riku was. If anyone would know, it would be him, right? Riku seemed to trust Squall more than anyone.

Er—Leon, rather.

Sora worried his bottom lip and contemplated the other relationships he'd learned Riku had been in. What would Riku have to say about _them_? "So how many guys have you been with?" he asked.

The warmth left Riku's face, instead replaced by diffidence. "...define 'been with'?" he said distantly, once again staring past Sora as if reflecting on old memories.

"Like... had sex with."

Now Riku just looked awkward. "Define... _sex_."

Okay, it was Sora's turn to be confused. "Wuh?"

A hint of red on his cheeks, Riku picked himself up and dragged a hand through his hair, pulling a few locks loose from his ponytail. "Like, do you mean just hands and mouths?" he asked with a nervous laugh, and then gestured quickly as he continued. "Or going _all_ the way?"

_Oh. Right. _Sora hadn't even thought about _that_.

"All the way," he clarified. He felt his face warming to match Riku's; he really hadn't been expecting all this apprehension from Riku. Talk about an awkward conversation, but he wanted to know!

Lifting a hand, Riku silently but quickly counted on his fingers and stated, "Four."

Sora shot into a sitting position, shocked. "_Four_?!" Hadn't Leon and Axel said _five_?

But judging from the way Riku's eyes narrowed at his reaction, he was a bit offended—like he thought Sora was surprised at the number for a different reason. "Four isn't a lot," he said, and his voice had taken on a cutting edge. Defensive. "Only two of them were actual relationships. In fact, a lot of the other gay guys I know don't even _count _random fucks because they get so many." Then, before Sora could cut in, he added more softly, "I count them because... Well, _because. _They all meant something to me."

Sora waved his hands to mollify Riku's moodiness. "No, no—I was just surprised, because..." Great, how was he supposed to word that? "Because..."

"Because?"

All Sora could come up with was the truth, though. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head, laughing sheepishly. "I was asking around, and Leon and Axel and Irvine—they were all talking with each other, and they told me that you've been with _five _guys."

Riku opened his mouth, then closed it, a torn expression crossing his face. "Oh, right. Well..." His eyes sharpened on Sora. "Don't tell _anyone_, but one of those five didn't really happen. We only said it did. To save face."

Wait, so...

Wait.

Sora was really confused now. Riku had lied about having sex with someone for some reason that had _benefited_ him? How did _that _work? More importantly, he had to ask—

"Who?"

He wanted to tag on _why_ and _how_ as well, but Riku's expression closed off again.

"Does it matter?" he asked dismissively. He shook his head and lowered onto the bed, this time lying on his back.

Though he didn't want to drop the subject, not after a revelation like _that_, Sora got a feeling that if he pressed this particular subject, it wouldn't get him anywhere. Not with Riku being so defensive about it. It was time to move on.

Holding back his disappointment, Sora murmured, "I guess not..." As he moved to lay next to Riku, he felt the older boy's eyes watching him, studying him. Sora shifted until he was comfortable, and then offered a smile to break the tension between them. "What are some of the things you do in the city?"

Riku's features softened. "Right. Atropos." As Sora studied his face, Riku's gaze lifted back to the ceiling. "It's always a busy place, even at night. _This _place always shuts down as soon as it gets dark, I noticed. You live in a really small world, Sora."

"Tell me about it." Sora laughed and tucked a fist beneath his chin as he continued to watch Riku. "So then, life goes on after dark over there?"

To Sora's relief, Riku echoed his laugh, already easing up again. "Yeah. Believe it or not, I used to sneak out at night just to get my quota of fun. My aunt used to keep me under a tight leash."

"I'm not surprised," Sora admitted. "So what do you do? Any favorite places?"

Rolling back onto his side to face him, a quiet smile spread across Riku's face. The two of them were only inches away now, only their knees touching—and their breath soft against each other's cheeks. Sora didn't mind it. Riku smelled like toothpaste from earlier.

"I always liked this one coffee shop," Riku said, smile still there. "Used to spend a lot of time there, ordering coffee and doing my homework in this one little corner. I guess I was pretty bookish back in high school. I was always at the library, too, when I wasn't at someone's apartment playing games or whatever. Except Squall's—Squall isn't big with entertainment stuff. We'd laze around and talk a lot. And swim." He grinned a bit there. "Did you know that Squall's big on swimming? I've been meaning to take him to the blitzball arena, but—well, we've been busy with the house."

That was the first time Riku had really talked about someone else like that. In a way, his eyes almost lit up—like, by sharing that bit of information on Squall, he was somehow ingraining those memories into Sora as well.

Sora wished someone would talk about him like that, too.

"Anyway." Riku cleared his throat and focused back on the question as if realizing he had just gone off on a Squallish tangent. "Nowadays, back in Atropos, I spend most of my time in the JE building."

This piqued Sora's curiosity. "Jay-ee?"

"Jenova Enterprises," Riku explained. "Sephiroth's kingdom, basically." He smirked at that and lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "I spend a lot of time there, but not just for work. To hang out, you know? There's always a crowd there. Models, stylists, designers, photographers, ad managers, even caterers—you name it. It's like a world all on its own..."

The image of Riku surrounded by all the glamour and hubbub of the fashion industry—for what Sora pictured it to be, anyway—was easy to imagine. Riku himself wasn't glamorous, but he had everything else. That part about Riku's life, more than anything, was what made Sora nervous about going with him. Sora just knew he wouldn't fit in at all... It would be like Selphie in a business suit, or Tidus doing ballet, or Riku dressed in fish guts from working in the fish market all day—Sora being fashionable just didn't _fit_.

Alright, maybe he was exaggerating. Axel's suggestions had made him feel more comfortable about it, definitely, but it still made him nervous. Makeovers? Brand names? Sora felt like he was about to let Kairi's girlfriends torture him during their sleepovers all over again. Still, he had agreed to Axel's offer... so now that he was planning on returning with Riku there, more than likely he'd get sucked into the industry one way or another.

"...some concerts when I can. Sometimes movies, too, when I can convince someone to go."

Sora blinked, drawn out of his thoughts when he realized Riku had kept talking. From the way Riku was idly picking at the lump of pillow between them, he hadn't noticed Sora zoning out.

"I also visit my old academy, though I graduated over a year ago," he continued freely. "There are a couple of professors I stayed close to."

"Like Cid?" Sora interjected.

Riku's eyes met his. Maybe he hadn't thought Sora was listening to him?

Then his faint smile returned, and he released a quiet laugh. "Yeah, like Cid." His hand came to a rest on the pillow as his face grew serious again. "Hey, Sora..."

"Hm?" Though Sora's own smile remained, the way Riku was looking at him made his stomach clench with something warm. Just from a _look_.

Riku drew his hand closer to his face and watched Sora from over the curve of it, almost cautiously. When he spoke, it was with a hopeful happiness that not even his guarded expression could hide. "You're serious about coming with me?"

Sora laughed at their suddenly reversed roles again. _Come on, Riku, where did all that confidence go? _But instead of asking aloud, he reached out and poked Riku's nose. "Yeah, I'm serious. Don't worry about it."

Riku's hand caught his, and Sora's heart jumped a little as fingers laced with his own. It was remarkably intimate without _being _intimate somehow. Maybe Riku just needed the contact. Mustering up his smile again, Sora let him keep his hand as Riku rested them against the pillow between their heads.

"What about your mom?"

Oh. What _about _his mom? He hadn't even thought over how she'd feel about this. He'd be leaving her all alone here after eighteen years of companionship...

"I... dunno," he admitted. He tried picturing her in the city, but with her cutesy fish-decorated apron and spatulas, he couldn't see her surviving—even though she used to live in Clotho, which was almost as big as Atropos. "She'd probably stay here for a while. She likes this place."

Lowering his gaze, Riku hummed in thought.

Sora knew what that meant. "An idea?"

Green eyes lifted to meet his again, and Riku's lips quirked. "Yeah. Tell you about it later."

A hint of confidence was back now. Sora was glad to see it, but he couldn't help pursing his lips in response.

"Tease," he murmured.

This earned him a familiar smirk. "Your point?"

Sora realized then that this wasn't about the conversation anymore. Without even knowing it—had he just flirted? Feeling his cheeks warm at the sudden insight, he steeled himself, determined not to back away like a shy little girl.

He prodded Riku's firm stomach. "That you're a _tease_. You're always dangling this information in front of me and then yanking it away just when I get a good nibble!"

Riku's other hand reached down and snatched his wrist, and with both of his hands in Riku's possession, Sora felt himself get tugged a little closer as Riku drew one of Sora's arms over his own waist.

The warmth of Sora's cheeks deepened even more as he felt his arm settling at Riku's waist, and when he met the older boy's gaze, he was very aware of how close they were, of how fast his heart was beginning to race, and—

Of how happy Riku looked in that moment. Riku was still all smirky, but there was a definite change behind it, some kind of relief, a contentment. It felt inviting.

Riku's fingers squeezed his. "Then maybe tomorrow I'll give you more than just a nibble."

Anticipation flickered through Sora at the suggestion. _And _the suggestive_ness_. He slowly breathed in to take control of his flighty heart and smiled at Riku.

The conversation had ended, but it seemed like their bodies hadn't finished talking yet. Riku's fingers didn't leave his own, not even as the two of them nestled beneath the covers of Riku's bed and settled in for the night. Neither of them wanted to break the mood by pointing out they were still wearing their day clothes.

Sora fell asleep beside Riku with a smile, warm beneath the covers but not too warm, with their fingers clasped together between them.

Despite his comfort, however, it was a fitful sleep. His mind buzzed with excitement, running multiple scenarios through his head about what could happen once he left the islands with Riku to live in Atropos, as well as possibilities for his future, for his strange relationship with Riku, for his mother's future, too... He even thought about what Axel or Leon or Tidus would say about all this.

There was no way to know how many times he woke up that night, blearily drifting between awake and asleep and not knowing what was a dream, but some time when the room was beginning to gray, it occurred to him that he was extremely warm—and for good reason.

Riku was sound asleep, or seemed like he was, and had rolled over to face away from Sora; Sora, however, was now sprawled half across the bed _and_ Riku, one of his arms draped over the older boy's hip, and his other arm beneath Riku's waist.

Surprisingly, their fingers were laced together again even though they must have separated some time after Riku had rolled over... and Riku was holding their hands beneath his chin. Almost... vulnerable. Sora found it cute. It seemed like ever since he had made up his mind about Riku, he was seeing all sorts of new sides to him.

Deciding he was comfortable this way, Sora didn't bother disentangling himself from the other boy. He nestled against Riku's back and lazily smiled as he tightened his arm over Riku's waist. The body snug against his own didn't even stir.

This time he slept like a log. He dreamt, but when he woke up again and found the sun shining in his face, anything he might have remembered flew from his mind like dust blown off a book.

There was a head tucked beneath his chin, and he didn't know how it had gotten there.

Blinking his eyes open, Sora groggily surveyed the situation. The light outside the window wasn't too bright yet, so it was probably still early morning. More importantly, though, Sora's spooning had somehow turned into outright snuggling?

Riku was now faced towards him again—and _still _deep asleep—and had curled his arm over Sora's waist in return. His breath was hot against Sora's shoulder. Their hands had finally separated, but now one of Riku's legs had tangled itself with _his_...

Sora's heart jumpstarted as he thought about how much more suggestive this was than before.

Not that _this_ was unpleasant. Just... unexpected.

He soaked in the feel of Riku's body so close to his again and relaxed in the presence of all this affection, unconsciously enacted or not. He felt happiness bubbling up inside of him and knew this would be a good day.

His _first _day. Right, no more lingering in between what he thought he wanted and what was cushy and safe. No more relying on other people to move his life forward for him. He was gonna live it for himself.

Carefully extracting himself from Riku's grip, he slipped a pillow into Riku's arms and snickered softly when the older boy reflexively held the pillow closer to his chest. Still fast asleep.

Sora wasn't sure what he was going to do while Riku was passed out like this, but a shower and some time alone to think sounded nice.

He turned away from the bed, but before he could leave, something on the night table caught his eye. Curiosity drew him right to it, and he was glad he had stopped when he did.

On top of a stack of magazines—the ones Axel had offered to lend him—sat a photograph, a note, and a very familiar silver necklace with a crown charm.

With a gasp, Sora snatched his necklace from the night table and picked up the note to read it, recognizing his mom's handwriting.

_Hey sweetey! I found this GORGEOUS little necklace sitting at the bottom of the laundry basket! I almost took it for myself, but I figured it belonged to you. A gift from Riku? You two are so cute! _

Relief filtered through Sora as he clutched the necklace to himself and read on to the last line of the note.

_P.S. – we caught you!_

Confused, Sora looked over at the photograph that had been resting with the note.

Then promptly blushed.

There, resting harmlessly on the magazines, was evidence of him spooning Riku. The picture must have been taken right after dawn, judging from the soft lighting in the room. Sora could tell Axel had taken it because of the weird but very intimate angle from which it had been shot. The white border at the bottom had been signed: _by Axel & Seiya_. Sora groaned aloud as he pictured the two of them standing there and giggling at the sight of him and Riku on the bed together.

Great. As if his mom and Selphie were bad enough as a crazy duo. Now his mom and _Axel_? He suddenly feared for his future.

Slipping his necklace on, he took the photograph, the note, and stack of magazines, tucked them beneath his arm, and paused by the door to stuff his shoes on before he quietly left the room.

The hallway beyond was silent, but he heard a muffled voice coming from the Black Room. Sephiroth on the phone—or with Cloud again. Sora decided not to loiter, as much as he wanted to. He paused at the top of the stairs to try distinguishing the voices and sounds below: dishes being washed, Axel and Seiya conversing, the typing of a keyboard (must have been Leon's laptop).

Sora wasn't sure where everyone else was, but he didn't want any random encounters before he reached home.

Keeping his footsteps light, he hurried down the stairs. The voices in the kitchen carried on without falter, but the typing in the living room paused. Sora froze in the hallway and turned to look, and Leon—with a mug of coffee or tea or something steaming—was taking a long sip. He hadn't noticed Sora.

Slinking towards the front door, Sora quietly opened it and snuck outside.

Home free.

Sora skipped across the street to his house and, after grabbing and peeling a banana from the kitchen for sustenance, he ran upstairs to his bedroom. Setting the photo and note on his dresser, he kicked his shoes and pants off to get more comfortable. Then he flopped onto his bed in his boxers, munching on the banana as he spread the magazines out in front of him.

He surveyed their glossy covers and tried to remember which ones Axel had said Riku was in—but then spotted a thin binder, and chose that one first out of curiosity. He didn't recall seeing it last night.

He pulled it open and smiled when he saw that it was a small collection of candid photos, these of which were labeled like last night's.

There were a few unfamiliar names, like a Seifer Almasy in mid-sentence gesturing at what looked like a presentation of a new ad, and a Melissa Pierce sitting at a dressing table with Cloud reflected in the mirror. Sora recognized _her _from the magazine cover last night—so this was Cloud's ex-girlfriend?

Sora saw plenty of names he did recognize, though. Lots of Sephiroth by himself or with nameless people, Leon with Riku, Sephiroth with Cloud, even Ansem and his secretaries... or slaves. Most of all, there was Riku. Sora wasn't sure if Axel had put this binder together with Sora's interests in mind, or if Axel just had this many pictures of Riku in his collection. Most of them seemed to be Riku working or talking with other people, all in the same building it looked like.

Was this "Sephiroth's kingdom"? Sora grinned at the reference Riku had made. At least, if Riku ever did drag him into this hectic industry, Sora would be able to recognize some people now.

Closing the collection, he reached for the _Omnislash _issue and flipped through it, stopping every time he spotted silver hair. Not every time was Riku, but he did come across a college-themed section that perked his Riku interests. It was of Riku and Irvine in academy-style blazers, but it was set-up in a way that carried a suggestive undertone. Riku was even beginning to undo his tie. The funny part was that he seemed a bit younger, which would have made him too young for whatever college uniform he was wearing in this pic.

Still, he looked really good in it... It made Sora wonder about what kind of schools were on Atropos. Were uniforms common? He hadn't worn one in high school except for gym and blitzball. Riku had attended a private school, so a uniform had probably been likely. He'd have to ask about it later.

He skimmed through a few more pages, but the sight of a lot of exposed flesh in a middle section made him close the magazine. He was reminded of the velvet-themed spreads he had seen in one of the others, and how downright erotic Riku looked in some of the pictures...

After sharing the bed with Riku last night, he didn't want to let his mind get too carried away right now.

He picked up the _Pumpkinhead _issue in hopes it would be less "inspiring," so to speak. This brand was the fairytale-esque style mixed with punk and goth that Sora had glanced at last night. Axel had told him to look at this magazine later...

Well, now was as good of a time as any other.

Finishing his banana, Sora wiped his hands on his boxers before he began to leaf through page after page of zippers, buckles, ruffles, lace, and leather, definitely recognizing the style. He'd seen Leon wearing some of these pants and boots, and Cloud in one or two of the more conservative shirts...

He paused when he located Riku, not surprised to find him in the middle of a dark, elaborate set. He was stretched out in a pumpkin patch in the middle of a cemetery—a fake one, but the set designer had made it realistic enough to make the tombstones around him weather-worn and covered in moss. The "sky" was dark, but plenty of lighting came from several jack-o-lanterns scattered amongst the patch.

Riku was dressed in black from head to toe, but despite the dark setting, the colors popped out because of the pumpkins surrounding him. He even had his arms draped across the large pumpkins behind him as if he were sitting on a throne. His face was turned upward, the candlelight reflecting orange in his eyes—and was that eyeliner? And from the way the image was shot at a low angle aiming upward to draw attention to the model as much as the clothes, Sora had a feeling this particular photo had been Axel's.

Something about the style urged Sora's gaze to linger on Riku more than he had in the other magazine. Maybe it was the clothes and atmosphere, but... Sora had a feeling that Axel just could photograph Riku more effectively than the others—or maybe it was _Riku_ reacting to Axel's presence that somehow made Axel's pictures this way.

Whatever it was, Sora had a hard time turning the page.

But he was glad he did.

Riku again. Another dark setting, this one meant to resemble some kind of crypt judging from the dilapidated masonry, cobwebs, and stylized candlesticks. Riku was in mid-stretch as he rose from an ornate, obsidian coffin with a plush dark green interior. His mouth was open as if caught in a yawn, but he actually looked graceful about it, probably to draw attention to the hint of fang he had.

The fangs weren't the highlight, though—that was Riku himself.

Aside from a pair of black boxers hanging very _very_ low on his hips, Riku wore nothing. The brand name _Oblivion _was printed in white script across the hem inches below his navel, and in the back of his mind as he stared at Riku's lean body and remembered the feel of it against his own, he heard Axel's words from earlier.

_"Riku's one of those things that people can't help wanting to study, wanting to touch, wanting to __**want**__. That's why we stare."_

So then... it was okay to want Riku.

He had already admitted it to himself, but actually _feeling_ it was different. And here he was with Riku before him, literally within his reach. It was almost unreal that someone like Riku, so sought after and admired and desired by countless people, would want _him_ in return and had even come all this way to find him again.

But then Sora studied the page below him and thought about everything they had done together—from the kissing and the grinding and the desperation of their post-date excitement, to the mind-numbing pleasure of Riku's fingers rubbing him and stroking him towards completion that other day, to the heat of Riku's quickened breath brushing his cheek and the darkened look in those eyes as he touched Sora in the storage closet... And the feel of Riku's firm body nestled against his own this morning.

At times, he had been too scared to admit his attraction.

He wasn't ashamed anymore. Embarrassed, a little, but... no longer scared of the fact Riku was a guy and happened to be the first person he had ever had a sexual interest in.

Sora swallowed against his dry throat and slowly inhaled as he closed his eyes and tried not to think about what he was about to do. Instead, he thought about Riku.

Riku's husky voice in his ear—_"You like this, So-ra?"_—as his hand slid up Sora's thigh—or as Sora imagined it to, because in reality, his own hand was the one sliding up his thigh.

He rubbed himself through his boxers, and the flutter of heat that had been focused in his gut spiked outward, filling him with the nervous excitement of arousal. He imagined Riku's tone growing teasing, maybe with another sultry whisper as he felt Sora's dick stirring beneath his boxers—because Riku wouldn't be daunted by his hard-on. The older boy would keep teasing, keep touching—

So Sora kept touching.

He shifted his legs apart and slipped a hand into his boxers, firmly stroking the heated skin the way he remembered Riku had done it. He heard his breaths begin to leave him in heavy gasps as he worked harder at his erection, lost in the memory of Riku's fingers on him.

For once, it wasn't like touching himself; he focused on the stimulation, not the ache of his arm as he quickened his strokes, and his heart soared as he imagined how Riku's expression would be right now—if he really were the one touching him—with green eyes darkened beneath his silver bangs and watching Sora's face change in response to the escalating pleasure.

And when Sora felt the heated tension spreading in his body, he kept going, letting the tremors spread through his thighs and abdomen. Riku wouldn't stop if he felt Sora getting this close; his fingers would curl harder against him, massaging the underside, teasing the slit, and he'd soak in the rare wanton sounds escaping Sora's throat in his lack of inhibition—

"A-_aahhh_..."

_BANG._

The door slammed open.

"Sora, you in here, sweety?"

The fantasy shattered.

Sora froze, hand down his boxers, and he gawked at his mom as she strolled right into his room.

"_MOM!_"

At the sound of his squeak, she paused froze halfway into his room, laundry basket in her arms, and finally _looked _at him.

"Oh _MY_—"

Her blue eyes widened, and Sora scrambled to pull a blanket over his lap, humiliation and dread filling him to the core.

She immediately began backing right out the door. "Iiiiiii'll come back later!"

"T-Too late!" he whined after her, his face and ears burning. Of all the times he consciously decided to jack-off with Riku in mind, of course his mom would decide to barge into his room without knocking! Hadn't she just been at Riku's doing the dishes?

Oh wait.

He realized grimly that had been nearly an hour ago.

Well, his excitement was definitely gone after that interruption—like dumping a vat of ice water into his lap. There wasn't any point to going back to it _now_.

"Wait, Mom!"

Awkwardly sitting up, he took a steadying breath as she peeked her head back into his room, this time with a certain level of caution.

"Yeeees?"

Sora noticed that her nose didn't sound nearly as stuffed up as it had been. At least she was feeling better now. He mustered a smile and tried to get past his embarrassment, though it was extremely uncomfortable. "Did you need something?"

She scooted into the room and set the laundry basket on his desk chair. "Just a delivery. All clean and folded!"

The way her gaze kept shifting to where he'd piled his blanket in his lap didn't escape his notice. Then again, she'd never walked in on him before, and—well, Sora had never been much of a horny teenager. So, despite how she seemed to be trying to throw Riku at him, Sora realized she probably hadn't thought _this_ far ahead.

Still, she did a fine job covering up any discomfort she might have had.

She stepped back and wiped her hands on her apron, looking proud. "I'm starting to think you have more clothes than I do."

He grinned, grateful that she wasn't going to question his little solo session. "Maybe." At the mention of clothes, he was reminded of the Atropos plans he had yet to share with her. "Hey, Mom... do you have a second?"

Blinking, she studied him briefly, and as if sensing something amiss, she moved to sit next to him. "Sure, honey. What's going on?" she asked.

"Well..." Though he hesitated, he couldn't think of a better way to say this. "Riku said he's leaving the islands in about a month."

He saw her eyes fill with sympathy, but before she could cut in, he continued in a calm tone.

"And when he leaves, I want to go with him."

The sympathy vanished. Instead, a look of understanding crossed her face, and her lips pulled into a knowing but accepting smile. "I'm proud of you." Her hand rested on his calf and squeezed. "I didn't think you'd ever leave the nest!"

He frowned in confusion. "You really think it's okay?"

Her other hand slipped into his hair and lightly ruffled it. "Sweety, it's more than okay. I think it's something you _have_ to do." She pinched his nose playfully. "You've been cooped up here all your life. Riku knows the city, so go with him and make lots of new friends and experiences." Then she paused and regarded him with a relieved smile. "I was worried you were never going to get out of here." She laughed a little and shook her head. "Riku's a real blessing in disguise."

Sora shifted, unable to hide his worry as she started to rise. "You're going to be okay by yourself?" he asked before she could completely get to her feet.

Pausing, she lifted her brows at him, then smoothed her apron out as she settled back on the edge of the bed. "Well... with you out of my hair," she started in a teasing tone, "I can chase after some younger men!"

He made a face, hoping she was actually joking—but he wouldn't hold it past her. She was thirty-six but still looked in her late twenties. At her comment, though, he thought back to what little she had told him about his dad. She had gotten pregnant her senior year of high school, and that was all he really knew.

"Hey, Mom..."

She tilted her head. "Hm?"

"Dad. What was he like?" he asked, meeting her gaze.

Her eyes lit up as she curled her hands in her lap, smiling at some distant memory. "_Totally _a hunk. He had the sexiest body of _all _the guys in kickboxing, which was down the hall from the home-economics class. I used to stop by and give them all cakes and cookies, and he used to always compliment me, and I would stare at his fine little tush when—"

"Okay, okay—" Sora waved his hands and tried not to grimace. "I get the picture! You had a crush on Dad?"

He saw the smile slowly leave her face and fade into something he didn't quite recognize. Not regret, not even sadness.

"I wouldn't call him your dad," she said patiently, then sighed and studied the floor. "Biological father, yes. But he was never your _dad_."

"I thought you said he sent us child support?" he wondered.

Her smile returned, but it was apologetic. "I wasn't exactly honest about that. The checks come from your grandparents."

Frowning now and more than just confused, he waited for an explanation, and when she realized he wasn't going to let her leave without elaborating, her shoulders slumped a little.

"Right... You're old enough to know," she admitted. Her thumbs rubbed idly against the backs of her hands as she began to talk. "It was more than a crush. I was infatuated, really. But I was careful about hiding it because he was already seeing someone. Dominique. She was a skinny little blonde thing, but they'd been friends a long time, and I couldn't compete with that. So I didn't compete." She brushed a lock of her bangs behind her hair, and her smile turned hesitant.

Ah—there it was. A hint of shame.

"Go on," Sora urged.

"One night at a party, he got really drunk," she continued. "Not drunk enough that he was falling over his own feet or puking in potted plants, but drunk enough to forget himself. You know, stupid teenagers." A soft sigh, and she shook her head. "Dominique wasn't there, I don't remember why. Some family reason, probably. But I was there, and I wasn't drinking."

Sora was suddenly aware of where this was going, but he didn't say anything, not wanting her to stop now.

She lowered her eyes and awkwardly began to pick at her apron. "Weeell... None of his guy friends were helping him out because they were busy showing off with stupid beer tricks. So I helped him upstairs to one of the empty rooms, and..."

When she trailed off, her smile grew fond, to his surprise.

"I seduced him. I wanted him, and right then, he wanted me, too, and—I didn't care about consequences. I knew what could happen." Shrugging, she clasped her hands in her lap again. "And it was drunken sex... clumsy. But it was still the best night of my life. Before I had you, I mean."

He really had no idea what to say to any of this. All he could do was stare at his mother and listen, too stunned to be uncomfortable or disgusted or... _anything_. This wasn't what he had been imagining all his life.

"It was all I wanted," she said, her voice soft now. "It was perfect."

Was his mom _insane_?

She continued on as if everything was normal. "He didn't remember any of it. Or if he did, he didn't let onto it." Finally, her sad smile appeared. "I talked to him only one last time after that, to say goodbye. But he just gave me this adorably confused look because he didn't understand. When I graduated, I was beginning to show signs I was pregnant. A lot of people noticed, but no one knew who was responsible." Again, she tucked her bangs behind her ears. "My parents hadn't even known I was sexually active, or whatever. I kept to myself a lot."

Her eyes shifted to meet his, and she reached out to cup his cheek, her carefree nature returning. "But! Until this day, I don't regret it. I wasn't even upset when I found out I was pregnant. I was really happy because I was going to have the _cutest _baby in the world."

Sora found himself returning her smile despite everything he'd just learned.

"My parents weren't ecstatic at all, of course." She rolled her eyes and looked away again. "So I took my savings and left without their blessing—I have it _now _after a few years of drama, but... I just didn't want anyone to see what you'd look like as you grew up... No one in my family has your wild hair." With a small laugh, she lowered her hand and studied him again. "You look just like him, y'know. I still have a picture of him somewhere, but... well, I think you know why I don't have it in a frame anywhere."

So that's why she never talked about her past or about his dad or her family or _anything_. He'd had no clue, all this time.

"Mom..."

His tone was partly between sympathetic and upset, but it was enough for his mom to snap out of her reverie with a deep sigh. "I was stupid, I admit," she said with another laugh, but it didn't carry her usual cheer. "Young people make stupid decisions. I wasn't thinking. At least, I wasn't thinking about what was important." Her eyes softened at him. "I should have been thinking about your future... your father... and about how my family would react. But all I cared about back then was myself and that small miracle growing in my belly."

Sora lowered his face, his fingers twisted in his blanket. He wanted to be mad about this. After all those tales his mom used to tell him about princes and true love and dreams coming true—she was telling him a story about the truth—_her _story—and it felt like, for a moment, that she had been telling him lies his entire life.

But then he thought about everything she probably had gone through just for _him_, for her to be happy with him and never regret having him, and...

He couldn't stay mad, not for that.

Not once had she ever treated him like a burden. Somehow, over the past eighteen years, she had raised him on her own—with only a little help on the side—and had never once complained about how hard it had been. Not that Sora had made it hard on her, but... It couldn't have been easy, either, considering how difficult it was for her to keep a job here. And all this time, it had just been the two of them, Seiya and Sora, an outcast mother with a friendless son.

She had probably been as lonely as he had. That had been her decision, but Sora couldn't help feeling sorry for her.

And what about his dad?

"Mom... did you even love my dad?" he wondered—then corrected himself. "I mean, my father."

She was still watching him with that sympathetic smile. "No. When I looked at him, I knew we'd never have a chance together. I just..." Her lips pulled into something more wry. "Had the hots for him?" Then she laughed at herself again and finally did rise from the bed. But she didn't leave right away. She paused to turn back to him, and in one of her rare moments of sad uncertainty, she twisted her hands together in front of her and lowered her face. "Sora..."

Usually, not always, she had a term of endearment follow his name. She tended to leave it out when she was being serious or reprimanding him. Though it had never bothered him before, for some reason its absence worried him this time.

"Fairytales are fairytales," she said softly. "I know I didn't look hard for it, but I never found the kind of love that people talk about in those fairytales. Maybe it doesn't even exist." With a quiet sigh that almost seemed to say, _Oh well_, she lifted her gaze back to him. Her smile returned, just a fraction of her usual cheeriness, but her words were sincere. "But you and Riku—that's something special. I wish I could have had what the two of you _can _have. I watch the two of you and I feel like I'm witnessing one of those silly fairytales come to life—and that's when it stops becoming _silly_... because seeing it is beautiful."

Her fingers drew through her hair again, and she trailed off, leaving Sora with restlessness inside of him.

He wanted to be with Riku, and he was pretty sure Riku wanted to be with him—but that was no guarantee that they would _get _together, let alone _be _together for a happily ever after. Could there be a happily ever after between two princes?

...maybe that was why Axel insisted on calling Riku a princess instead.

Still. Sora felt like if he and Riku didn't have their fairytale happiness, he would be disappointing his mother.

"Mom, I'm not really sure... if all that, uh, magic you're seeing... is really there between me and Riku," Sora said in a delicate tone, not wanting to upset her. "I want to move to Atropos with him, but—" He wet his lips and looked down at his hands. "I'm not sure what will happen between us. We're not even really together, and like..."

"I understand," she gently cut in, and he glanced back up. "When you were little, you never had trouble showing affection. Now that you're older—well, I'd always wondered why you had never come home and exclaimed that you'd gotten a girlfriend or something." As she tapped her chin in thought, she eyed him in a mother-sees-all way. "I know teenage boys, and I know what's on their brains most of the time. But _you_, honey, I'd always wondered about you. Girls for friends but no _girlfriends_, all those sleepovers they dragged you to, your seemingly absent interest in sex despite your age... Then Riku shows up, and I see this complete turnaround in you." She rested her hands on her hips. "Sora baby, have you ever considered that maybe you _are _gay?"

The question made him backtrack to a few days ago when he had thought the same thing and had decided maybe he was just attracted to Riku. A Rikusexual. After what he had learned from Axel and Leon, though, there were probably lots of Rikusexuals running around.

"Riku's important to me," he admitted, and as if saying it aloud somehow made it more official, he felt his heart give a happy little skip. "I'm just not completely comfortable, you know? Especially here..." Because of the _people_ here. Because of Bickson and his friends and all the other once friendly islanders who had given him malevolent stares in the past week.

"Mm, yeah," his mom agreed as she pursed her lips. "This isn't the best place for spreading tolerance. But, you know—" She folded her arms, and her usual optimism returned full force, grin and all. "Isn't Riku more important than what everyone else says or thinks?"

That was just like her, too. But she wasn't the one being cornered in alleyways and threatened by blitzball players who now hated his guts when, a week ago, they had been fine with him joining in on a practice or two.

Riku was more important to him than all of _them_, but... why push their buttons? In a month, he wouldn't be here anymore.

To his mom's credit, he smiled anyway. "Yeah. He is."

After she left his room with a cheerful good luck, Sora spent a few minutes in solitude to think over everything that had just happened. It had been a weird morning, that was for sure.

Deciding to take a shower and see what the rest of the day had in store for him, he gathered up Axel's magazines and binder and set them in a neat stack on his dresser. Then he undressed, tried to forget his interrupted solo session from earlier, and made his way into his bathroom, uncertain of what he'd do when he got out. Probably go back to Riku's house...

He was humming when he got out of his shower, a restless energy simmering inside of him. He strolled back into his bedroom as if he could take on the world, one hand holding onto the half-open towel at his waist as his other hand rubbed another towel into his wet hair, but when he looked up, his upbeat hum died in his throat.

Someone was sitting on his bed.

He hadn't _invited_ that someone.

Axel lifted a hand in greeting and grinned. "Yo."

With a startled cry, Sora clutched his towel more securely around his waist and leapt back, angling an arm as if to karate chop the intruder. "What the heck are you doing here?!" he demanded, his shrill voice surprising even himself. "In _MY ROOM_?!" How had Axel even learned where he lived? Oh, wait—the crazy redhead had befriended his mother. Great.

Laughing, Axel lifted his lanky legs and made a show of getting to his feet. "Your sweet lil mom—"

_I knew it. _

"—volunteered you to show me around this _adorable _closely-knitted community."

_She did __**what**__? _Didn't she know how hostile Riku was towards Axel? Then again... Maybe she didn't. And then _again_—Sora wasn't the one who had a problem with the eccentric photographer. It wasn't like Sora had been the one who had dated him, right?

"That sounds like my mom," Sora sighed.

He felt himself tense as Axel casually closed the distance between them, and he was suddenly very well aware that only a towel separated him and Riku's first boyfriend. Okay, thinking about it _that _way, he could see why Riku would get hostile...

Axel's grin turned crooked, but as he opened his mouth to remark about something—Sora didn't want to know what!—Sora firmly grabbed Axel's arm and steered him right towards the door.

"Fine! I'll give you a tour, but—" He shoved Axel into the hall, giving him a stern look. "You wait out here, Mr. Good Fairy."

As he was closing the door on Axel, the redhead grabbed the edge of the door to smirk at him through the crack. "The charming prince better hurry or Sleeping Beauty's gonna wake up before we get back."

Sora rolled his eyes in good humor and shut the door completely. Yeah, Riku was probably going to be waking up soon, long before he and Axel were done with this stupid tour. Why did he want to take one anyway? This place was boring.

_Well, whatever floats his boat._

He turned towards his dresser and slipped off his towel.

His door creaked back open.

Sora paused. Glanced over his shoulder. Narrowed his eyes.

One green eye was watching him through the crack. "And between you 'n me, you have a fine, princely ass," came Axel's mischievous tone, muffled by the door.

Flushing, Sora lunged at the door, but it clicked shut again before he got there, and from the other side, he could hear Axel's roguish chuckling.

And not for the first time, what might have been a flirt to anyone else somehow felt more playful to Sora. Despite Riku's obvious discomfort, Sora didn't think he himself had to worry about Axel. He wasn't sure what made him so confident that Axel_ wasn't_ flirting, but he once again suspected the redhead was fishing for just reactions, not results.

What a strange guy.

Still, best to not tempt the devil, right? Sora decided to get dressed in the safety of his bathroom anyway. Grabbing clothes from his freshly-packed laundry basket, Sora left Axel to fend for himself in the hallway as he spent some time getting ready.

He didn't mind just rolling out of bed and throwing on old clothes piled on the floor, but his resolution from yesterday was strong in his mind. Today was the first day of his new future, and he wanted it to be a _clean_ one. Teeth brushed, underarms deodorized, hair tamed (for the most part), he pulled on his clothes—camo green cargos with drawstrings at the calves, a sleeveless hoodie of a tolerable orange shade—and grabbed his most comfortable flip flops.

On the way to the door, he positioned his crown necklace proudly over his chest.

Axel wasn't in the hall anymore, but various noises from downstairs told him where he'd find him.

The noises were coming from Axel and an expensive-looking camera. He had just finished pulling out a roll of old film and was installing a new one, and he didn't glance up from his work until the camera was snapped shut again.

Sora watched him tinker with the fancy camera with quiet curiosity, and when Axel saw the expression on his face, he grinned and handed a tiny backpack that had been resting on the dining room table.

"This one's for you."

Sora took the black leathery case and inspected it before he zipped it open. Another camera? His brows furrowed at Axel as he took the device out. "You're trusting me with something expensive?" he asked.

The redhead shrugged as he slipped the strap of his larger carrying case onto his shoulder. "I don't like my digitals as much. Besides..." His lips curled into more of a smirk, and he held up a finger for each point. "It's not as complicated as my others, you can see the results immediately, and it's not going to cost me a fortune to replace if a seagull snatches it, or you drop it into the water, or.. you know, you _drop_ it."

Sora traced his fingers over some of the buttons in the back and suddenly felt very powerful. Maybe it was silly, but this piece of equipment—this wonder of technology, this beautiful product way beyond his own budget—really did make him feel like royalty.

Matching Axel's earlier grin, Sora pushed the power button, and a giddy little thrill twisted inside of him as an electronic chirp signaled the camera coming to life. The LCD screen faded in, and Sora was suddenly staring at Axel's amused expression from the other side of the lens. This camera seemed very similar to the one Axel had let him use yesterday during their brief how-to, just not as heavy or button-happy. Simple was a good start.

Feeling like he'd never stop smiling today, Sora laughed and accepted Axel's apparent invitation to go out snapshot hunting with him. This might have been Axel's first time to a real island, which explained the tour Axel wanted Sora to give him. If this place really was as beautiful as Riku made it out to be in comparison to the city, no doubt someone with an eye like Axel's would want to go out and explore instead of staying cooped up in Riku's place.

Sora turned off the camera for later and put it back into its case. "Thanks!" he said and flashed him his excited grin. "Where did you want to go?"

With a leisurely stretch, Axel slung his arm over Sora's shoulders and pulled him close as he steered them to the front door, both camera bags in tow. "Hehe, you tell _me_," Axel replied. When Sora opened the door, the redhead gestured outside. "I mean, it's _your _kingdom."

Sora eyed the neatly trimmed hedges of his neighbors' lawns, then glanced across the street at Calm Bounty, then thought about the old ladies on their porches down the street, the yippy dogs and small children who liked to follow him, and all of the other familiar faces in his small community, including the ones who now hated him. Not much of a kingdom.

"If you say so," Sora said, matter-of-fact.

But Axel was the kind of company he could get used to. They walked side by side down the cobblestone road towards the business sector, Sora following familiar steps with an unfamiliar excitement inside of him as he talked with Axel—and talked about anything. From the island itself, to the people and some of their stories, to Sora's own past and what memories he did have of Riku, and to some of the trouble he and Riku had already gotten into in the past week.

Axel, despite appearances, was a great listener, and always provided the perfect commentary to punctuate Sora's sentences. He also had some of his own stories to share, like how Axel used to sneak into Riku's big house through the balcony when his aunt was home, and how hopeless Riku used to be at videogames until their friend Demyx had corrupted him, and how Riku used to hate having his picture taken and was, once upon a time, the gayest straight boy Axel had ever met. Sora couldn't help bursting into laughter at that, especially because it wasn't hard to imagine at all.

As he showed Axel what very little there was to show about the island, Axel would stop occasionally to snap several pictures of nothing—at least, Sora didn't see anything of interest until Axel would point out the way the palm trees looked against the sky at that moment, or the way the seagulls huddled on the old weatherworn bench looked as if they were waiting to attack. He even found something picture-worthy out of the steam rising from one of the restaurant chimneys, and in a pile of loose cobblestone at their feet, and the way the sea looked as they stood at the crest of the road looking down towards the beach and seawall.

The beach... Sora had a lot of memories of Riku there from when they'd been kids. Lots of adventures and bully-bullying and doing silly things that little boys and girls often did just because they were best friends—like claim to get married one day. Except Sora really hadn't known Riku had been a boy. Oh, man.

And now that Sora thought about it, he really hadn't been to the beach since Riku's arrival. He wondered if Riku had, either, but he somehow doubted it.

When both of their stomachs started growling, Sora took Axel to one of the tiny restaurants to get a quick bite to eat, and Axel shared a big basket of fish and chips with him. Sora bought two ice cream cones afterward and, after Axel's heavy insistence of getting the mocha flavor, he learned that the redhead was somewhat of a coffee fiend.

In between storytelling and picture taking, Axel often took the time to give a tidbit or two of advice about how to use the camera he was letting Sora borrow. Even though Sora was pretty much hopeless with technology in general—not that computers or email or cell phones were needed much out _here_—for some reason, he picked up on the camera quickly. He caught onto the different focuses and the zooms and the difference between the speeds, and managed to take only one or two pictures with his finger or the camera cord or his shadow in the way. And with each picture, he learned something new. He doubted he'd be taking anything award-winning or publishable any time soon, but it was a start.

"Maybe I'll take some photography classes," Sora announced after seeing how nice one of his images had turned out on the LCD screen. It had been a heron taking flight from the sea, its wings kicking up the spray of the water as its gray feathers fanned to catch the air.

"There's a school for that out here?" Axel wondered. He had both eyebrows lifted at him, and Sora realized he had been thinking out loud.

Shaking his head, he cleared the camera's screen back to more pictures. "No, I meant—when I move to Atropos," he explained. He zoomed in on some of the workers at the fish market not too far away, just to watch them through the screen.

One of them glanced in his and Axel's direction, and not with a friendly "how ya doin'!" kind of glance. More than one islander had given him a hostile stare today, especially with Axel accompanying him. Then again, maybe it was good that Axel _was _there with him; he _really _didn't want a repeat of some blitzball players cornering him in an alley alone. Or worse.

"Wait, wait—"

Axel's surprise returned Sora's attention to him.

"You're moving to the big A?" he asked him. He didn't sound incredulous so much as... impressed?

The thought made Sora's stomach clench with excitement again. "Yeah. Riku's leaving in a month, and I'm going with him."

Laughing, Axel rubbed the back of his neck below his ponytail. "Wow." He paused to let loose a long, low whistle before he continued. "Just—wow."

"What?" Sora asked, this time with slightly pursed lips. He hadn't been worried before, but after a comment like _that_, how could he not?

Axel made a disarming gesture and grinned. "Nothing, nothing..." Fiddling with his camera and shaking his head, he chuckled. "Just that I'm amazed."

As he lowered his borrowed camera, Sora tried not to feel impatient with the redhead. "Why? Tell me."

"Well..." Axel trailed off, his gaze shifting towards the fish market. "Let's walk, and I'll tell ya."

Sora complied without question; he didn't want to feel all of those scrutinizing eyes on them from afar for no reason anymore. He led Axel without direction, past a long line of palm trees, and it wasn't until he heard the lapping of waves that he realized he had led them to the seawall. Hadn't he wandered over here the last time he had been lost in thought? And Tidus had given him his vote of confidence...

A lot had happened since then, a mere two days ago...

"This is good," Axel announced.

As the redhead carefully set his camera bag down, Sora watched him settle at the edge of the seawall and pat the space beside him. Sora obeyed after putting the digital camera away—and far from the edge. He relaxed at Axel's side and regarded him with eager expectation.

"So?"

Axel glanced at him from the corner of his eye, still faced towards the sea. "Like I said, I'm amazed. You see—Riku used to tell me all about you. He told _us_ all about you. Well, maybe not _all_ of us..."

Sora sat up straight and gave him a wide-eyed look. "What? He did? Who's _us_?"

"Those of us who got close enough to listen."

The response had been without Axel's playful tone for once. It carried a serious undertone, though he was still smiling. Sora remained silent and attentive to prompt him to continue. And he did.

Axel returned his gaze to the sea, his lips curled into an empty smirk now. "No matter what I did, he seemed to stay so... closed off. I dunno. But he had this picture of you two by his bed—I'd forgotten about it until I heard your name yesterday."

Had it really only been since yesterday that they had known each other? After how well they had gotten along today, Sora was amazed by the reminder.

"He had a picture of me by his bed?"

"Yeah," Axel laughed. "One time I asked about it, and he told me about you, and it was like... he opened up to me without me even trying. Like you were some magic word that made him smile. You have any idea how hard it was for me to get him to smile in the beginning?"

Sora shook his head, lost in thought. He had a few old pictures of Riku somewhere, but he had never thought to do anything with them. Yet it seemed like Riku had spent all this time—eleven _years_—thinking about Destiny Islands and Sora. Was it a bad thing that Riku had been so caught up in their past together when Sora had only thought about Riku a handful of times since then?

Then again... That day had marked a huge change for Riku. He'd lost his parents, his home, his best friend, and had been forced to live with his overbearing aunt in what Axel had described as a very empty, very lonely manor. In comparison, Sora had only lost a best friend that day. In Riku's shoes, Sora might have obsessed over his past, too...

"Then I started noticing how he'd never make the first move with me," Axel continued when Sora had said nothing. "Not once, not even when I stopped and waited for him. He always waited for _me_ to start making out. So one day I asked him—out of curiosity, and because it was starting to grate on my nerves." He paused, leaning his weight on the edge of the seawall. The waves licked the rocks below them, filling the brief silence. "And he told me about the day he left here, and how you tried to run after him, and shouted after him. Not to kiss any other boys except him, right?" Axel laughed and closed his eyes. "You broke a lot of hearts that day, kid."

Sora wasn't sure if Axel was referring to _him _directly, or the Sora of the past.

Regardless, what Axel was telling him was equally heartwarming and... sad. Probably because of the way it was being told. Axel had experienced this firsthand—but had he been one of the broken hearts? Sora couldn't tell.

But because of Sora's desperation that day eleven years ago, Riku had kept his silly promise.

Strange how those little words could alter so many lives.

"After you," Axel said, "no one could compare. Aaaaall those years ago when Riku moved to Atropos to start his boring ass life with his aunt, he left his heart here with you. Funny how, when he came to pick it up, it was exactly where he'd left it."

Green eyes opened again and met his.

"And, _man_..." Axel's grin returned. "He's got it _bad_. Like—even Squall's given up, and he's got the stubbornness of a damn mule. Speaking of which, you should ask _him _why he's here. _That's_ an interesting story."

Sora shifted to mimic Axel's position, leaning his weight back, careful not to put his hands on the seagull poop that littered the edge. Leon and Riku... Sora _was _curious about them, but more of his questions were directed towards Axel. He was the one who had witnessed Riku's shift from cute to cocky—as all the others had put it.

And there was that mystery, too.

What had Axel done to Riku that had created this unshakeable hatred between them? Or at least, hatred on Riku's end.

Sora hesitated to search for the right words to ask.

Then Axel's leg began to vibrate.

Startled out of his thoughts, he watched Axel fish into his pocket and pull out a slender red cell phone, and the song it was playing grew audible. "_Oh such grace, oh such beauty—so precious, suspicious, and charming, and vi—_"

Axel slid the phone open, and his tone was flat as he spoke into it. "Why are you awake? Your prince hasn't come for you yet."

Sora tensed as he heard Riku's voice filter through the other end, loud enough for Sora to hear the anger but not the words.

Axel seemed unfazed by whatever Riku was saying, though. "Yeah, uh... there's crappy reception out here, so if you wanna lop my head off, get out here." He paused and raised a brow at Sora. "Where are we, anyway?"

Glad that at least someone was being calm about the situation, Sora sent him a grateful smile. "The seawall."

"Right. The seawall," Axel said into the phone. There was silence from the other side for a few seconds, and then Riku's voice resounded much lower than before, not nearly as angry. Whatever he said, Axel just chuckled. "...well, if you want your prince that badly, come get him."

Then he slid his phone closed and smirked again at Sora.

"Riku's on his way."

Sora just watched him, shocked as to how easily Axel had just handled that. No matter how mad Riku was, Sora knew that Axel had riled him up enough to draw Riku straight out here. What was the redhead planning? _Had _he planned this?

Axel didn't offer an explanation to his silent questions. He just shoved his phone back into his pocket and tilted his head back, lifting his gaze to the sky. Clouds drifted lazily across the vivid blue, creating wide shadows across the tranquil, turquoise waters below.

A deep silence spread between them as they waited.

After a few minutes, Axel finally sighed and shifted to get to his feet, grabbing the strap of his camera bag. Nervous about what was going to ensue in a few minutes, Sora also decided to stand, too restless to sit still now. He tried to offer Axel the digital camera, but the older boy laughed at him.

"Bring it back to me when you get to Atropos," he said with a crooked smile. "Speaking of which... A word of caution."

Pleased about the gift, Sora slipped the strap over his shoulder, some of his apprehension fading—but not by much. "A word of caution?" he asked.

"Don't worry, there's no midnight curfew or poison apples or magical wells," Axel teased. He reached out to ruffle Sora's hair, who playfully glared at the babying. Then his tone lost a little of its mischief, gaining depth again. "Just remember that Riku is the princess, not the prince. He's strong, sure, but he doesn't realize how fragile he is, either. Got it?"

Sora curled his hand around the camera strap, leveled his gaze on Axel's, and ran his words through his mind a few times. Leon had said the same thing, and Sora had seen plenty of evidence to agree with them. Like last night, the way Riku had often seemed as insecure as he himself felt on the inside. And from what Axel had said about Riku's heart being _here_—he and Sora really _were_ in this together. Wherever this strange friendship led.

"Got it," he replied with another smile.

Axel flashed him a grin again before turning his attention back out to the sea. Silence ensued, deep again, as if it held as many secrets as the ocean itself did. Then, with a hushed voice that hardly carried over the breaking waves and rustling palms nearby, Axel sang to himself. "One-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero cruel..."

Sora didn't have a chance to contemplate which fairytale reference Axel had made this time.

"Sora!"

Riku.

He breathed deep to anchor his heart, which felt as if Axel or Riku or both of them had tossed it into the bobbing waves. When he looked over his shoulder, he was expecting Riku to look as stunning and out of place as usual; but he hadn't been expecting Leon—Squall?—to be there as well.

The tension in the air thickened as Riku drew closer, sea green eyes blazing with fury, with fear, and maybe even a little pain. But instead of meeting or pacifying Riku's oncoming tempest, Axel stepped forward.

He patted Riku's shoulder right as the silver-haired boy opened his mouth to start his tirade, and effectively cut him off.

"He's allllll yours, princess."

Then he stepped past Riku to leave him with Sora.

Riku looked stunned for a moment, his antagonism fading into confusion as he watched Axel walk away.

Hands stuffed in his pockets, Axel approached the other figure who had arrived with Riku; Squall stood at such a distance that it was obvious he felt this wasn't his place to intrude, and even as Axel advanced, neither of them acknowledged each other.

Instead, Squall's gray eyes studied Sora without falter, something there in their stormy depths that made Sora feel as though this moment, this strange gathering of the three of them—Sora, Axel, Squall, all drawn together because of Riku—was suddenly more significant than Sora himself knew.

_After you, no one could compare, _Axel had said.

_He left his heart here with you._

_Even Squall's given up._

Whatever Squall was searching for within Sora, he must have found it. With a single nod, he formed the faintest of smiles. Then he slowly turned away and followed after Axel.

It was Sora's turn.

He glanced at Riku, unsure of what to expect. From the look of it, Riku didn't either. The older boy was staring after Axel and Squall with a frown, and when the two of them passed out of sight beyond the palm trees, he finally focused on Sora.

As Riku scanned him over, Sora did the same.

Silver hair tied behind him, a sleeveless indigo shirt with a draped neck and yellow stripes down the sides, yellow wristlets, and a pair of baggy jeans over some brand name sneakers. Still stylish, but no damsel.

He didn't look like he had just woken up, which made Sora wonder how long Riku had waited around before realizing Axel had been missing, too. Maybe it was a little mean of him, but the way Riku had freaked out about it made Sora happy. Riku—jealous about him and Axel? Or had that just been fear of what he thought Axel could have done to him?

Sora smiled at him to ease his worries. "Hey."

"Hey..."

Riku didn't demand to know why he had been with Axel or what he had been doing all morning and afternoon with him. Instead, he delicately took Sora's crown pendant into his fingers and smiled.

"You found it."

Sora only grinned in response, not thinking it was a good time to bring up the note and photo his mom and Axel had left for them.

Satisfied with Sora's grin, Riku closed the distance between them to stand beside him at the edge of the seawall.

Much like Axel, Riku's gaze turned towards the horizon. The ferry was gliding past them, and some of the people on the deck glanced over at them and chatted amongst each other.

Eleven years ago, Riku had been on that ferry, both of them reluctant to accept the sudden changes in their lives. And in a month or so, Sora would be on that ferry with him, eager to begin living their future together.

Funny how their lives had taken so many backward turns only to come full circle now.

"I missed this place," Riku admitted quietly. A soft smile touched his lips as he stared after the ferry. "But coming back here made me realize something."

Sora tilted his head in question, and the warm sea breeze rustled their hair as he waited for Riku to continue.

When he did, his eyes met Sora's. "I don't belong here. Maybe I never did..." His face lowered, and Sora followed his gaze to study the light splashes of the waves against the rocks. "It's beautiful to visit. But after spending years of dreaming about this place, it doesn't live up to those dreams, or the memories of my past." He gave a sad laugh and hooked his hands on his pockets. "Made me wonder what I spent all those years searching for..."

_"I came back for __**you**__." _

_"I wanted you back in my life."_

_"I wanted __**you**__." _

"...but, really. My happiest memories were only about this place because you were always there. Here."

Riku's eyes returned to his, a tentative hope reflected in the sea green. Where was that cockiness the other guys had described to him? Where was the confidence Riku had been showing him all along?

Sora was staring at the little girl from his past.

_"I didn't even know if you'd recognize me."_

He did now.

He caught Riku's wrist and tugged his hand away from his pocket. Their fingers slipped into each other's, a firm fold like a snug blanket, different from last night's warm weight. This wasn't a search for comfort.

It was a promise. A new one.

Sora leaned in and paused.

The corner of Riku's mouth curled with understanding. His free hand cupped Sora's hip and gently squeezed—a final acknowledgement.

Then Riku finished what he had started.

Their lips met, a supple caress and a hint of moisture, and Sora closed his eyes as his heart ballooned with warmth. He rose onto the edges of his flip flops to encourage Riku, and he felt the older boy's hand slide up from his hip to tangle into his hair and hold the back of his head.

Their kiss eased into a sensual glide of advance and retreat, playing back and forth with pressures and strokes of their lips and hints of tongue. His free fingers grasped at Riku's side through his shirt, feeling Riku's body press closer to him, so he pressed back. A nibble against his bottom lip sent a shiver through him, and he gave a soft laugh into Riku's mouth. The older boy smirked.

And when their lips separated with a shared, whispered breath between them, Sora met Riku's eyes through his silver bangs.

There was still a tinge of shyness between them, but it was in the face of something new, something _real_.

They smiled.

Then Sora reached up, clutched the back of Riku's head, and pulled him in for another kiss.

-o-o-

* * *

Please review? You've come this far! This story still has a big chunk of plot left, so I hope you stick around for more. I'm aiming for a late June update for the anniversary, so check back then.

If you check out my profile (on fanfiction-dot-net), you can find some extra links to a FAQ, my thoughts on 180's portrayal of relationships, and some answers to your questions about "is (character) going to be in this story?!"


	16. Ch 16: Ambition Begets Ambivalence

_Author's Notes:_

Happy 5th anniversary, A Complete 180°! Sure, I'm terrible about updating you quickly, but you're still alive and kicking after five years, and I'm quite proud of that fact. I know how annoying it can be for a long-running story to just… die or disappear or have the writer lose total interest.

After this chapter, there are only about six parts left, so I will do my best to reach the end! (And more quickly, too.)

* * *

_**Chapter Sixteen: **__Ambition Begets Ambivalence_

-o-o-

With the lingering feel of lips against his own, Sora returned to Riku's house with his new boyfriend at his side.

Boyfriends. It was both an embarrassing and exciting notion for Sora, but he was determined to avoid being ashamed about it. Though a quiet tension had developed between them, it was one that promised of more to come now that they had an official title.

As they drew away from the eye of the public, their hands sought each other's out. Each brush of thumb against Sora's palm and each tangle of Riku's fingers in his own colored Sora's world and reminded him over and over that this was real. This had been _his_ decision.

Even as they approached the house, he kept his hand in Riku's.

If anyone noticed the gesture, it wasn't commented on. Calm Bounty was abuzz. As Riku had explained during the walk back, Sephiroth and his entourage were already preparing to leave. They had gotten what they had come here for: Sephiroth's discovery of Tidus, aka his official business excuse to come out here and stalk Cloud and Riku.

At the moment, Fujin and Raijin were loading the impressive black Ballade they had driven here from the ferry. Most of the bags looked like Axel's equipment, and watching those black cases disappear into the back of the vehicle filled Sora with a hint of sadness. As fast as Axel had come into Sora's life, he'd be gone.

At least for now. Sora suspected that Axel would find a way to get ahold of him once he was living in Atropos with Riku.

Riku was the one to release his hand as the two of them passed the Ballade and crossed the front walk to the door, which was propped open to let people through.

Sephiroth was in the hallway conversing with—to Sora's surprise—_Kairi_. And despite how fangirlish she had been acting about Sephiroth the day before, right then she had on a calm, professional demeanor as she spoke to the intimidating yet beautiful man. Sephiroth himself was wearing half a smile to her credit, but before Sora could eavesdrop on whatever they had been talking about, he was spotted. Or rather, Riku was.

Sephiroth's gaze focused on the two of them before he met Riku's gaze and, with a short yet (somehow) polite gesture, interrupted Kairi's sentence.

"Ah, excuse me, Miss..."

Sora saw Kairi remain cheery and attentive, not at all offended that she had been cut off. "Just call me Kairi." Smiling cutely, she clasped her hands together in front of her and stepped aside. "Once again, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit our modest little island. If you ever need anything on a return visit..." She let it hang.

Sephiroth offered her a slightly wider smile, looking more amused than anything else. "Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me..." He turned towards Riku and Sora, and while his back was turned, Kairi gave them a small wave before she headed into the living room where Tidus and Selphie could be heard laughing about something.

"I'll just go on ahead," Sora whispered as Sephiroth approached.

With a nod from Riku, he left Sephiroth with Riku and followed after Kairi to see what was going on. Somehow he wasn't surprised to find Axel lounging on the large sofa between Irvine and Selphie, while Kairi settled on the loveseat with Tidus. Everyone was grinning, even Kairi.

"What'd I miss?" he asked as he entered. He set the camera case Axel had let him borrow down on the low coffee table in front of them to make sure the redhead would see it.

"Something about how Axel is going to make Tidus pose shirtless for the entirety of the photo shoot next week," Kairi replied with another laugh. "So how many photographers does Sephiroth have?"

"A handful," Irvine supplied, to which Axel added with flair:

"But only _one _of true importance. Moi."

Selphie giggled. "How long you been working for him?"

Leaning back, Axel spread his arms out against the back of the sofa behind Irvine and Selphie. "A few years, same as Riku."

Sora climbed into the large, cushiony armchair adjacent to Kairi, already lost in his thoughts again. He hadn't forgotten that Sephiroth had invited Tidus for a photo shoot, but the news of it being next _week _was pretty new. It sounded like such a good opportunity to get Tidus's name out to the public, but Sora was a little worried for Tidus...

"Hey Tidus, what's the coach going to do about the team when you're out of town?" Sora wondered. After all, Tidus _was_ the captain, and after how Bickson and his buddies had been disrespecting Tidus behind his back, he hoped there wasn't going to be some underhanded coup d'etat while Tidus was in Atropos.

Tidus's eyes widened a little. "You didn't hear?"

Sora wasn't sure what he hadn't heard, but with the way his brain had been on Riku and mostly _only _Riku the past two days, he wasn't surprised if something had escaped his attention. "Hear what?"

"Regular practice is cancelled for two weeks. With me going out of town, and Jumal's ankle sprained, they're gonna be short two people," Tidus explained. "So they're just doing laps and techniques."

Whoa, whoa, _whoa_.

"Wait a sec, Jumal's ankle is _sprained_?" Sora asked, incredulous.

"Yeah, but I didn't hear the story. Apparently he's not saying how it happened," Tidus said with a shrug.

No doubt because he, Bickson, and Graav didn't want to admit that Sora the Queer had done it. It'd lead to too many questions and unwanted attention for both parties. Then again, even Sora would have laughed if he had heard that some gay kid had slammed his foot into Jumal's ankle and sprained it. For once, he was grateful that most jocks had a staggering amount of pride.

Though... there was another possibility as to why they hadn't told anyone about the incident or blamed Sora. Sora wouldn't put it past them to be cooking up a nice dish of revenge.

The thought make his stomach churn, but he tried not to make it obvious he was worried. "Oh. That sucks."

"Yeah, Coach is worried that the break will set us behind, since school's so close to starting..." Tidus trailed off, then laughed. "It's gonna be weird without you there, Sora. School, I mean."

And once again, he was reminded of Tidus's feelings for him. They didn't exactly make him feel weird, but he did feel a tinge of guilt about it, though he wasn't sure why he ought to feel guilty. Tidus was a great guy, _and _a great friend, though Sora had never realized that until just a few days ago. All along, he hadn't been as alone as he had thought.

"Yeah," Selphie agreed, this time with a slight pout. "And you, too, Kairi. You meanies."

Kairi laughed at that, yet nervously tucked a lock of auburn hair behind an ear. "We're mean because we graduated?"

"_And _you're gonna leave us!"

Sora blinked at Kairi. He hadn't heard about this. "You're moving?"

A line of pink crossed her cheeks. "Oh, well... Just for school. My dad wants me to attend a mainland university. I'll be back for holidays and summers."

"You know," Axel cut in with a sly smile, "a little birdy told me that a certain spiky-haired prince was moving to Atropos in a few weeks."

It was Sora's turn to blush, and he wasn't sure if it was because Axel had just revealed something that he wasn't sure he had been ready to announce yet, or if it was because Axel had just referred to him as a prince in front of so many people. "A-Axel!"

All eyes turned to Sora, most of them widened.

"For real?" Irvine asked, a grin lighting his face. "Little Sora's leaving the nest?"

"Noooo, not you too!" Selphie whined as she sat up straight. Her pout was even heavier now. "Why are you going there?"

"The answer to that question has silver hair and a very fine ass—and isn't Sephiroth, in case there's any confusion there," Axel laughed.

Selphie's pout vanished. "Oh! Duh." She sat back again and nestled against Axel's side. "So you gonna mooch off Riku?"

"Well... I haven't really had time to think it out yet," Sora said, still embarrassed, "but hopefully I can get a decent job, and maybe apply to a good college by the Spring semester."

"Good," Irvine said with a tip of his hat. "So then it's true that Sephiroth gave Riku a deadline?"

Deadline? That made it sound so unpromising. "Er, well..." Sora shifted on the cushion. "A month, I think. He said something like... he wanted Riku back in time for some seasonal stuff, but Riku's planning on keeping the boarding house open somehow. He didn't really elaborate."

"Hm. Iiiinteresting," Axel noted, his lips curling. "So, Sora—still want to try your hand at photography?"

"Maybe," Sora replied. He eyes landed on the camera he'd set on the table, and he thought back to Axel's portfolios and all the memories of Riku he had locked in there like a tomb filled with gold, perfectly preserved and beautiful...

All Sora knew was that he didn't want to stay here on Destiny Islands with no future roads open to him other than remaining a bum, becoming a fisherman, or living with ridicule and abuse because of a sexuality he couldn't really control.

"It's a thought, at least," he added at last, and he offered Axel a smile.

Then a loud crash abruptly reverberated through the nearby hall, followed by a woman's stern voice clipped with an icy, dangerous edge.

"IDIOT."

"_Ow_, you could help out, ya know!"

"MOVE."

"_Ahhh_—s-sorry Fuu. W-Whoa, YO, I'm sorry, SORRY, YA KNOW?!"

There came the hard impact of boot against rump, and Raijin tumbled into the living room headfirst with a cry. Fujin calmly trailed after him, her expression deadpan as she glanced over the people gathered in the room. Then her visible eye focused on Irvine.

"READY."

Raijin, in the midst of rubbing the pain out of his ass, elaborated for everyone. "Ballade's packed... ya know..."

At first, it wasn't clear to Sora as to why they were announcing it to _them_, except maybe to warn Axel to say his goodbyes. Instead, it was _Irvine _who began to move. He lightly slapped his legs and sighed before starting to get up.

"Well, that's my cue."

Did that mean what Sora thought it might mean?

"You're leaving?" he asked. Why was the only one who seemed surprised by this?

Irvine slipped his hat off and raked a hand through his hair, messing his ponytail up a bit. He glanced at Sora through his bangs with a lifted brow. "What, I didn't tell you?"

Reluctantly getting to her feet, Selphie spoke in a gloomy tone. "Irvy's leaving. He told everyone while you were with Axel this morning."

Sora sent Axel a confused look, but the redhead just shrugged and lifted his hands as if to clear himself of blame. "Hey, don't look at me. I found out just a few minutes ago."

"Yup, I'm hitting the road. My work _here _is done." As he replaced his hat, Irvine traced the rim with his fingers and took a moment to give Sora a smirk of his own. "See, with Cloud, Riku, and Squall here, Sephiroth can't fall back on his favorites when it comes to his all important photo shoot machinations. He's gonna turn to his second picks for those babies, and trust me—" He winked. "I'm not the only one jumping through hoops to get in on the action."

"S'why we couldn't stay here longer, ya know," Raijin added in as he, too, struggled to his feet with a wince.

"Seph's also neck-deep with interviews and arrangements for fresh meat," Irvine continued. He nodded towards the loveseat, where Kairi and Tidus straightened. "Sweet lil Tidus here isn't the only upcoming star." But at the sight of the slight frown that crossed Tidus's face, he chuckled and winked again. "Don't worry, Sephiroth'll still make you shine. You just have some competition, that's all."

"It's normal," Axel chipped in, his arms still spread over the back of the couch. "Think of it like one of your games."

"And _you_—"

Sora met Irvine's gaze again, torn between feeling sad that Irvine was leaving and confused as to how sudden it seemed. When had all of this been decided? Axel really didn't seem surprised about it despite how he had acted. Sora sort of recalled Axel mentioning Ars Arcanum to Irvine and a new line or something—maybe this was part of the reason?

Irvine strolled over to Sora and bent to make himself level. "Promise me, that when ya get to my town, you'll drop a line. Riku knows my number, so there's no excuse. Get me?"

So then Irvine _wasn't_ just waltzing out of his life. He did live in Atropos and seemed close to Riku, so maybe Sora shouldn't seem upset about this. "Yeah," he replied with a hesitant smile. Then again, Destiny Islands was mostly Sora's territory, and Irvine had been pretty liberal at times. How would Irvine behave when Sora was in Atropos on _their _territory?

"Good." With a grin, Irvine reached out and mussed Sora's hair. "I'll hold ya to that." Then, stepping back, he caught Selphie around the waist; she had been partially sulking the whole time, but as soon as Irvine's attention was on her, she brightened like someone had replaced a lightbulb inside of her. Flipping his hat off, he set it on her head, and leaned in to kiss her forehead. "There. You hold onto that for me, will ya?"

Her giggle renewed, she grasped the edges of the cowboy hat as if to pull it down over her pink cheeks. "Yeah!"

Irvine lifted two fingers to his forehead in a mini-salute. "See y'all later." And with that, he turned to leave.

Selphie trailed after him to see him off, and after some brief bickering, Fujin booted Raijin again to get him to follow suit.

"Maybe we should wait outside, too," Kairi suggested, and Sora agreed.

Besides, he kind of wanted to see Axel off, even though the zany photographer didn't seem concerned at all about leaving. Maybe Sora hadn't made much of an impression on him, but Sora could honestly admit to himself that, as short as the visit had been, Axel had wormed himself deep.

In the hallway, Sephiroth and Riku had been joined by Cid. Sora didn't see a problem with walking in on the conversation, or passing through the way Irvine and the others had to get outside, but as soon as he took a step out of the living room, he felt himself getting jerked back. And before he could cry out in surprise, a hand clamped over his mouth.

"_Shhhh_..."

Axel!

For a second, all Sora could think about was how angry and hateful Riku had been towards Axel for fear of what Axel could have done to Sora, and he had a terrified realization that this might have been that exact moment Riku had been worried would happen. Was Axel going to abduct him and drag him out the backdoor and take him to Atropos early? Or something much more sinister?

Then the stupid thought vanished when he remembered how ridiculous the notion was. Axel hadn't tried anything suspicious yet, and Sora trusted him despite Riku's past with the redhead. Axel had yet to really disappoint him.

Besides, Tidus and Kairi were right there.

But why had they stopped in the doorway? And just out of sight of Riku, Sephiroth, and Cid, yet completely within hearing range.

And then it clicked.

_Ohhhhh._

Axel smirked at the dawning realization on Sora's face. He uncovered Sora's mouth and held Sora's shoulders as the four of them listened in on the nearby conversation.

"...talked about this before. You guys aren't my parents," Riku was saying in a testy tone. He almost seemed... hounded. "I just don't want to pursue college right now."

Whatever they had been discussing, Cid wasn't backing down. "Fuck, Edenbrook, why waste those brains of yours? He just said so himself—you ain't got a future as a pansy-ass cover boy, and this waste of money project of yours here _also_ ain't gonna get you anywhere. Boy, what the fuck you gonna do in five years when your expiration date comes up?"

"Six years," Riku corrected, and even though he kept his voice low, Sora could still hear the conflict in his tone. "And don't give me that shit. Squall's still modeling and he's twenty-five, and I _know _he's not the oldest."

This was the first time Sora had heard wind of this subject, but for once it was easy for him to fill in the holes. Riku's financial future and friendship with Sora may have been stable, but his job seemed to be in trouble. Or, at least his _future_ job.

"I've already spoken with Leonhart." Sephiroth sounded as calm and composed as usual. "He's well aware that his own contract terminates within six months. Or did he not tell you that he's resubmitted his portfolio and résumé with his original intentions?"

Silence, and then—

"What about Seifer?" Riku whispered.

"Rivalry often produces spectacular results. As you've proven on more than one occasion, or need I remind you exactly with whom?"

Riku grew quiet again, but a sigh announced his tense rebuttal. "I spent _years _buried in textbooks because I had no choice. Now that I'm finally _free _of my aunt's shadow and don't have to listen to her bitch to me about trivial mistakes I've made despite how fucking _hard_ I've worked to make her happy, you guys are trying to make me go _back _to school? Why can't I just spend a little more time _living_?"

"You have one month," Sephiroth pointed out, his words leaving no room for an argument. "When you return to Atropos, I have an offer for you, and it is not an offer I would give lightly or to anyone I did not think had the potential." The shuffle of boots in the hall. "However, taking this offer _will _require a certain degree of dedication and schooling, perhaps years of it."

"In other words, it's not my contract as a model that has an expiration date. It's your offer that does."

"Both."

Cid's gruff voice cut in again. "Hell, it ain't like you can't have fun _while _you're studying. Like you said, no more she-devil riding your heels and dictating what the fuck you do, right? Study hard like ya always have, but live a little, too. It really ain't that hard." There was the faint scratch of stubble before he continued. "Ya told me a few days ago that ya didn't want to go to college 'cuz you didn't have the motivation or a goal in mind yet. Well, take it from me, you're gonna like this one. So take yer month vacation, and when ya come back to Atropos, keep that pretty mouth shut and listen to the fuckin' offer."

What offer? After last night, when Axel had spoken about Sephiroth's strange fascination with Riku, Sora had mixed feelings about this conversation. But surely Sephiroth wasn't stupid enough to offer Riku something to scare him away, not if Riku was that important to his business, especially if Sephiroth _had _come all this way just to confront him... More than likely, whatever Sephiroth had up his sleeve, it'd ensure Riku's loyalty to him.

Sora wasn't sure if that'd be good in the long run, or really bad... Not that it was his business to decide. Sora still only knew the surface scratchings of Riku's life, and Riku had made it in one piece this far by himself.

Though he probably wasn't the only one wondering what Sephiroth might have to offer.

Lifting his gaze, he sent Axel a questioning glance, but the redhead had his own look of curiosity. Sephiroth must not have told him about this.

"Fine," they heard Riku say at last. He didn't sound upset or even angry anymore. "But stop harassing Cloud until then. This is his vacation, too. And Squall's. When you leave, don't even think about calling them until summer's over."

"Very well. They may have their space."

"Sephiroth."

That last voice hadn't come from Cid or Riku, but Cloud. When had he shown up? Sounded like he was close to the kitchen.

Another shuffle of boots as Sephiroth turned towards the kitchen. "Excuse me..." He left the hallway to meet with Cloud.

Cid and Riku were silent for a few moments, until there was a hardly audible sigh.

"Did Seph tell you about this offer?" Riku asked quietly.

"Hell no, but I figger that he's never steered you wrong before."

It was at that moment that Axel tugged Sora back into the living room, leaving Kairi and Tidus lone eavesdroppers at the doorway. The four of them met each other's gazes in an awkward yet silent consensus that none of them should probably bring the subject up, let alone in front of Riku. At least, that's what Sora assumed the shared glances meant.

"So—" Axel guided Sora backwards and pressed down on his shoulders to get him to sit at the edge of the sofa like setting him down for an interrogation. "Sephiroth's distracted by Cloud again, so it looks like you're stuck with me for a few more minutes."

Sora grinned. "I'm not complaining."

Axel grinned right back. "You might in a sec."

Now Tidus and Kairi looked interested. They didn't even bother making themselves inconspicuous as they crowded behind Axel to peer down at Sora, too. The result was a very surreal feeling for Sora as he connected their faces to the strange situations he'd been in with them over the past week.

Kairi. Being rejected by her. Witnessing her interest in Riku, only for Riku to publicly embarrass her. Twice. Then having her somehow become a part of Calm Bounty's creation as Selphie took her under her wing. Not to mention how Kairi had walked in on him and Riku in the closet... Sora still didn't quite understand Kairi, but he no longer had hard feelings for what she had done to him. Her different masks had worried him before, but after he'd seen some of Riku's own masks, Sora had come to realize that maybe she needed them.

As did Tidus. Tidus, who had a crush on him but still had remained so supportive of Sora and Riku. Tidus, the island's star, who had to hide behind a "normal" guy façade because his life would come crashing down if anyone ever found out he was gay. Tidus, who may or may not realize that some of the players on his blitzball team already had hard feelings about him because he had stood up for Sora the Queer... Tidus, who had also been hand-picked by Sephiroth to attend a photo shoot in Atropos next week. Sora hoped that the opportunity yielded the best results possible for Tidus, because more than anyone else, he was the one who deserved them.

And Axel. Sora's own Fairy Godmother. Without Axel's meddling and influence, Sora wondered if he would have ever found the courage to pursue the feelings he had developed for Riku. In a way, Axel had also driven Riku to jealousy, enough that Riku had felt the need to claim Sora as his own in a roundabout way. Whatever fairytale trope Axel was to Riku, he wasn't the same thing to Sora, who couldn't help feeling that he'd made a good new friend and ally in the battlefield of Riku's complicated life.

So how was it that Sora was now finding Kairi, Tidus, and Axel staring down at him as if expecting answers?

"Tell me," Axel said with a playful lilt to his tone, "when I left you and Riku standing there on the seawall, what happened afterward?"

_We made out_, was the first thing that came to mind, but Sora was still feeling too put on the spot to admit that out loud. "We, er... talked?" Actually, Riku had done most of the talking before the kissing, not that they needed to know that. He was sure he was blushing again. If that didn't give away what had happened, it'd at least give away that he was avoiding the subject...

"Aboooout?" Axel prompted.

Tidus and Kairi leaned forward with interest.

"Why do you need to know?" Sora said, a little confused about their prying.

"Hey, I wanna hear about the fruits of my labor." Axel lifted a hand and poked Sora's nose. "Did you make the moves or not?"

"Make the moves? At the _seawall_?" Tidus asked, and now _he _was the one confused. Oh, right. He hadn't known about the whole pretend boyfriend thing.

Kairi gasped, and suddenly Sora didn't trust that Selphie-like gleam in her eyes. "Did you guys get together?" What _was_ with girls and romance and gossip?

"Sort of..." Sora replied hesitantly. "Yes?"

Tidus glanced at Kairi for answers. "They weren't together before?"

"It's a long story," Sora said with a cautious laugh before Kairi could try to explain anything. "Anyway, are you guys finished?"

"Well, how did it _go_?" Axel asked with a crooked grin.

What the heck was he insinuating? "We didn't proclaim everlasting love 'til death or anything like that, if that's what you're asking. We just... you know." He lowered his voice to a mumble. "Leaned in and made out?"

Axel laughed, but Kairi rolled her eyes with a smile and shook her head. "You're such a guy. Did you even tell him that you like him?"

"I _am _a guy, you know," Sora pointed out defensively. "And I think he can tell I like him. Why do I need to announce it?"

The only one who didn't look amused was Tidus. "You guys weren't together before?"

Sora exchanged a look with Kairi. She was the only one he had actually told some of the truth to, though on hindsight, Sora probably should have told Tidus and Selphie, too... but the only real opportunity Sora'd had to do so had been when Tidus had approached him on the seawall before blitzball practice and given him his best wishes. Sora wasn't exactly the most tactful person around, but even he knew that would have been a bad moment to reveal the whole pretend boyfriend scheme.

Not for the first time, Axel came to his rescue. "Let's say it was a work in progress, yes?"

That was another thing that Sora appreciated about the redhead. He was resourceful. Even though he didn't know the whole story, he could fill in enough holes to understand what was going on.

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "A work in progress."

When Tidus seemed to accept this answer, relief washed through him. It had never been his intention to give Tidus false hope; as cool as Tidus was, Sora had never really looked at Tidus as more than anything but a friend, and even _that _had been a recent development.

Axel straightened himself and folded his arms. "Well, that's good enough for me. You happy?"

The question made Sora think right back to everything he had felt when Riku's lips had pressed against his, to how his heart had felt like it had been floating on a warm cloud during the entire walk back to the house. And even now as he thought about all of it, there was that warmth again, a definite butterfly-ish elated feeling in his gut. Was he happy?

"Definitely."

A pleased smile pulled at Axel's lips, and he nodded, mussing Sora's hair again. "Good. Come visit me when you make it to the Big A, alright?"

"Sure."

"YO AXEL, we're leavin' without you, ya know?!"

As Raijin's voice rang throughout the house, Axel gave a short laugh. "Time to go." He playfully flicked at Sora's crown necklace and stepped back, letting Sora get to his feet. "I'll hold you to that 'Sure.' Promise?"

Sora got up to follow him, unable to resist a small grin of his own. "Sure."

They entered the hall together with Tidus and Kairi behind them, but the two of them stayed in the threshold of the front door as Sora and Axel made their way outside where Cid, Riku, Cloud, and Sora's mom were gathered. Sora knew someone was missing, but he didn't think much on it, more concerned about Axel and Irvine leaving.

Calm Bounty was losing its patrons one by one. First, those extra hands in the beginning after Cid had scared all of them away. Then Tifa. Now Irvine and Sephiroth's group... Sora knew that eventually Cid would be leaving, too. Followed by everyone else, because once summer was over, who would be left? Not Riku and Sora, not Cloud or Le—Squall...

Squall. He's who was missing.

Sora glanced around, wondering where he had gone off to. Then again, Squall didn't seem to like most of the people packed into the Ballade. Fujin was behind the wheel, with Sephiroth in the passenger seat wearing sunglasses, and Irvine was sitting calmly in the rear as Raijin climbed into the purring vehicle.

"Back to the grind," Axel sighed, then glanced at Sora with a knowing smirk. Then in a move so smooth that Sora never saw it coming, Axel reached behind him and openly groped his ass. "See ya, Prince Charming!"

Sora let out a yelp and pulled away, but before Riku could whirl around and execute bloody murder in front of everyone, Axel danced down the front walk and slipped into the Ballade behind Raijin and slammed the door shut. Even with Axel out of reach now, Sora heard a definite growl escape Riku as he stared after the redhead, probably wishing that bloody murder anyway.

Axel leaned out the open rear window and cupped his hands over his mouth. "Don't forget the lube, kiddies!"

Riku flipped him the finger, and Sora wasn't surprised to see a livid expression on his face. Axel dissolved into laughter until Raijin yanked him back inside. Then the Ballade pulled away from the curb, circled the cul-de-sac, and headed off to meet the ferry. Selphie yelled at the passing vehicle and bounced in place as she waved, her other hand held fast to her new cowboy hat.

Cloud was already escaping back inside. Though his expression was calm, Sora could tell he was moodier than usual; what he couldn't tell was whether or not that was because of Sephiroth's visit in the first place or because Sephiroth was leaving him. Cloud was quickly growing into a real mystery for Sora.

And there was Squall, too...

Sora still had so many questions for both of them. He'd better use his remaining month wisely, because he had a feeling that once he got to Atropos, he'd have less of an advantage in getting straight answers from them.

Sora's mom shielded her eyes as she glanced up into the late afternoon sky and sighed. "Time to get cooking. That's five less mouths to feed. Dinner's gonna be quiet tonight..." She turned to Sora and paused, a smile on her lips. The look on her face right then told him that she, too, was going to be drilling him for answers later. Why was everyone so curious about his relationship with Riku?

Granted, his mom's words from that morning still hadn't completely sunk in yet. Everything she had said about his father, plus how she really felt about his and Riku's relationship... She'd probably bake them a gigantic cake or something if he told her the boyfriend thing was official now.

"Yeah, really quiet," Selphie agreed, but she seemed happy about it. "But that's okay. Irvy said he'd be back!" She pumped a fist, then rushed past them. "Time to cleeeeean! I bet Sephiroth left something behind!"

Still waiting on the front porch, Kairi snapped to attention. "You think so? I'll come help!"

_Girls..._

Though more hesitantly, Tidus chimed in a second later, "You know, I think I will, too."

_Okay, maybe not just a girl thing. _

As the three of them and his mom headed inside, Sora turned to Riku, whose weary expression melted away when he noticed he had Sora's attention. Sora brightened, too, memories of earlier swimming around his heart. Were they really, officially together? Every time he thought about it, it still felt like a weird dream.

Boyfriends... It'd take some time to admit it out loud, probably.

"Glad they're gone?" Sora asked in an attempt to get Riku to relax.

A soft laugh escaped Riku as he nodded, closing the distance between them. "You have no idea." His fingers curled in the bottom of Sora's orange shirt and tugged him a little closer. Sora's stomach fluttered. He wet his lips, met Riku's gaze, started to rise onto his tiptoes...

But instead of granting a kiss, Riku rested his face against Sora's hair and relaxed even further. The sigh he released rustled Sora's hair, and when his arms slipped around the younger boy's waist, Sora felt his heart jerk a little in surprise. Sephiroth's visit must have stressed Riku out more than he'd realized.

After a moment of silence, Sora slowly slipped his arms around Riku in return. Maybe sometimes all you really need is the reassurance that only a hug can give you.

He smiled and rubbed a hand against Riku's back, keeping that to himself.

_It's okay, Riku. Things'll get better from here. You'll see._

The sudden yipping of a small dog interrupted his thoughts, and when he looked up, one of his neighbors—the owner of the yippy dog—had stopped across the street to stare at them. The dog was pulling at the end of its leash and yipping in their direction, and his neighbor, with a scowl that had always been a friendly smile before a week ago, turned away with a shake of her head.

_Or maybe not._

Every time he thought things would get better, he was reminded of his current situation and environment. Maybe hugging each other outside in the public's eye wasn't the best idea...

"Come on," Sora said and gently tugged on Riku's waist to get him to pull back. "Let's go inside."

Whether or not Riku had noticed his scowling neighbor, Riku conceded. The sound of the door closing behind them had never given him such a sense of security before. He didn't like feeling so uneasy.

"So what's the plan now?" Sora wondered. Focusing on what was to come would probably help him relax more. "With the house and stuff..."

Dragging a hand through his hair, Riku glanced around. "Well, now that the distractions are gone, we were going to finish up the remodeling. You know, and actually stick to the original plans instead of doing last minute camouflage. Tidus and Kairi said they'd help, since Tifa and Irvine are gone." He shrugged. "After that, I hadn't really thought about it."

All work and no play. Riku needed a vacation on his vacation, and Sora had a good idea in mind.

"You know what? We still have a month," he pointed out to Riku with a smile. "Why not take a day off? We should go to the beach."

_Their _beach. The one they used to always play on and make up silly adventures, and Sora would chase away the bullies who came to pick on Riku. They probably wouldn't be crawling through the dunes looking for buried treasure this time, but the beach had plenty of other fun uses. Besides, Riku needed a tan.

Riku returned the smile as he hooked a finger on one of Sora's belt loops. "The beach, huh?"

"Yeah, tomorrow morning," Sora said. He let Riku draw his waist against his own, liking the thrill of the feel of their pants brushing together. "And maybe my mom can make us some snacks to take..."

"Hmm, sounds good," Riku admitted. Was it his imagination, or had Riku's voice gotten a little deeper? "You and your cute lil board shorts..."

And Riku in _his_... Sora was looking forward to the sight. But then, Sora reminded himself about some of the pictures he'd seen of Riku in briefs. He wouldn't _really _gallivant around in public with those, would he?

"What about you?" Sora wondered, just to be sure.

Riku gave him a look that was partly amused but also partly withering. "I'm not wearing a bikini, if that's what you mean. I'm a _guy_." Then he pinched Sora's waist, earning another yelp.

"Th-Thanks for the reminder, sheesh..." Sora rubbed the sore spot.

He didn't miss the mischievous curl to Riku's lips in that moment, though, and especially didn't miss the way Riku's hands wandered over his waist to grasp his hips firmly. "I could give you a real reminder, if you want."

The suggestive hint to his tone sent Sora's thoughts right into the gutter, and this time when their pants brushed, Sora sucked in a sharp breath as warmth curled through him.

"Y-Yeah, I bet you _could_," Sora agreed. He looked away and swallowed, then wet his lips and breathed deep to calm himself down. How could Riku reduce him to a puddle of hormones so easily? One look, one change of inflection in his voice, one touch and insinuation...

Riku leaned in and pressed his forehead to Sora's and softly laughed, suddenly affectionate again. "You're so cute."

_Cute... _

"So what if I am?" Sora challenged, giving Riku a playful pout.

Riku's smile spread, then, and he slid his hands up Sora's body to cup his cheeks. "That look of yours is dangerous, you know."

"Hehe, I know."

With another laugh, Riku grabbed Sora's hand and laced their fingers together. "You're an imp. Did you know _that_?" He gave Sora's bottom lip a sharp nip before pulling away with a smirk quirking at the corner of his mouth.

"No, but I'm sure it'll come in handy," Sora replied with a small smirk of his own and squeezed the hand in his. "So what now?"

Riku lifted a brow. "What now?"

"Yeah. You told me about the house, but what about _us_?" Sora wondered, lifting his brow back.

A calm happiness filtered through Riku's expression as he studied Sora in that moment, and his green eyes grew soft with something that Sora couldn't quite discern. "To be honest, I never expected to get this far."

True. Riku had said something similar before.

"So in other words, no plan?"

"No plan," Riku confirmed, and he leaned forward, keeping his gaze level with Sora's. "And you know, I like it that way."

"You know what?" Sora returned with a half grin. "I like it that way, too." And this time, he was the one to close the distance between them and press his lips to Riku's.

-o-o-

* * *

For once, not a cliffhanger! This chapter was shorter than usual because I'm trying the shorter-chapter-faster-update method rather than my usual longer-chapter-slower-update. Yes, no?

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, 180! For those interested, don't forget to check out the FAQ (merged with the old FAQ) consisting of questions you readers asked to have answered in light of the occasion. The link can be found through my profile under the A Complete 180° section.


	17. Ch 17: We're Not Children

_Author's Notes:_

I promised a holiday update, and here we have a holiday update. Sorry for the long wait, but I hope you still enjoy it! Thanks for all the feedback and for being so patient!

* * *

_**Chapter Seventeen: We're Not Children**_

-o-o-

The next morning, Sora was abuzz with excitement as he prepared for the trip to the beach. He had been looking forward to it the night before after Sephiroth and his groupies had gone, which—as his mom had predicted—had left the house feeling empty. And after a quiet dinner, Riku had been too busy making calls to spend much time with Sora (though, to his credit, Riku had said sorry about a dozen times).

Sora understood. After the eavesdropping he had done on Riku and Sephiroth, Sora knew Riku had a lot of arrangements to make. Sephiroth had his top-secret proposal he was going to give Riku when he returned to Atropos in a month, and Riku needed to figure out where he was going to stay since he was most likely unwelcome back at his aunt's place, not that Riku _wanted_ to go back there. Not to mention what was going to happen to Calm Bounty when Riku left...

Well, that was why Sora had given Riku his space last night. Today, however—

Today Riku was gonna be _all _his.

He was determined to make Riku loosen up and enjoy himself at the beach. It was where they had spent the majority of their childhood playing together, and he had a lot of fond memories there. Now that Riku was back in his life and they were _together_-together, he wanted to make some new memories to take with him when he moved with Riku to Atropos.

Sora smiled to himself as he stuffed two bottles of water into the beach bag. Yeah, today Sora was going to make sure Riku's cell phone was far away and that his boyfriend (which was still strange to admit to himself) avoided work at all costs. He wondered if Riku even knew how to procrastinate; from the sound of how serious Riku had been about his schoolwork, he probably _didn't_.

"...soda, water, towels... Oh, and sunscreen, since Riku's so _pale_."

Drawn out of his thoughts by his mom's voice, Sora grinned at her as she went through the contents of the canvas bag and small cooler he was going to take to the beach with them. "Yeah, he's gonna have a nasty sunburn no matter what he does," he said.

She tsked and closed the bag, a smirk on her face as she regarded him. "Then make sure you help him rub it aaaaall over..."

Sora laughed and shook his head, still a little weirded out that his mom was sometimes more enthusiastic about his new relationship than he was. The two of them were in the kitchen while Riku got changed. "Maybe if we were gonna be _alone_," he pointed out. Selphie had volunteered to gather the rest of the crew that had wanted to go—Tidus and Kairi. Those three tagalongs were more than enough to deter Sora from any major public displays of affection.

A skeptical look was his mother's response before she turned towards the fridge. "I'll make you guys sandwiches. How many of you are going?"

Sora had yet to ask them, but he had a sneaking suspicion Squall and Cloud weren't exactly the beachy type. "Just four... so far. Think I should ask Squall and Cloud?"

"Those two have been cooped up here for days," she said with a sigh as she began pulling condiments out. "You should ask them, at least, so they know they could be part of the group if they _wanted_ to stop being so antisocial."

"True." Sora hadn't thought about it that way. He slipped off the stool he had been perched on. "Make an extra sandwich just in case, 'kay, Mom?"

As he left the kitchen, she threw a chipper, "Sure thing, Sweetie!" at his back.

Sora found Cloud first, which he hadn't been expecting. Cloud's voice came drifting into the hallway from the living room, and for the first time in days, he sounded calm.

Peeking into the room, Sora spotted the older man leaning against the back of one of the sofas. He had a slender phone pressed to his ear, and his free hand was resting casually beside him. Sora hadn't seem him this relaxed before. He was even wearing jeans and a normal shirt, and he was in his _socks_.

"Still haven't decided," he said into the phone, coupled with a sigh. He was silent for a moment more before he hummed an agreement to something, and then, "...me too. Get back to work. Yeah..." Sora snuck forward in time to see the faintest of smiles touch Cloud's lips. "Bye."

He slid his phone shut and stared off into the room for several seconds, deep in thought. It wasn't until he had slipped his phone into a pocket that he noticed the eavesdropper out of the corner of his eye. The look he gave Sora was one of calm indifference.

"Yeah?"

Sora stiffened, and his mind drew a blank as he blinked at Cloud, wondering who had been at the end of that call. Surely it hadn't been Cloud's ex-girlfriend? He couldn't imagine Cloud smiling for anyone, really, except maybe Riku—and even then that could have been Sora's own bias towards Riku.

"Who were you talking to?" he asked, hesitant about it because what were the odds of Cloud actually giving him an answer?

A look of brief discomfort flickered on Cloud's face. He turned his face away and dragged a hand through his hair. "...Seph."

Wait a sec—_Sephiroth_?!

Sora felt his jaw drop. Hadn't Cloud been up in arms towards Sephiroth just _yesterday_? What was up with that fond little smile he'd had a few seconds ago?!

At Sora's silence, Cloud glanced at him, apathetic towards his surprise. "Did you need something?"

Still stunned, Sora floundered before remembering why he had approached Cloud in the first place. "Oh, yeah... Um." He rubbed the back of his head. "A group of us are going to the beach to help Riku let loose and have a little fun. Did you want to come?"

Cloud scanned Sora's appearance—flip-flops, orange and white board shorts, and thin, dark blue shirt with a blitzball logo on it—and he shook his head. "No. That's fine. I have to pack."

Sora pursed his lips. "Pack?"

"Sephiroth offered me a place to stay," Cloud explained as he folded his arms. "Permanently."

Sora did another double-take. "But you just got here the other day! I thought you were gonna be Riku's clerk or whatever?!" he said, worried about how Riku was going to take the news.

"I _am_." Cloud turned to leave the living room, calm as can be. "When I'm here. This is only temporary, remember? I have to leave in a month, and I can't exactly live here and work in Atropos at the same time."

Following him into the hall, Sora frowned, trying to understand what was going on. "But then why..."

"I only had my stuff shipped all the way out here because my girlfriend kicked me out and I had nowhere to go," Cloud pointed out. "Riku said I could stay until I found a place, and—well, I did."

"With _Sephiroth_?" Sora asked, still more than confused. "But I thought you were mad at him."

"I am."

Cloud headed towards the study in the back of the house where a desk had been set up for Squall, and on the desk was a state of the art computer that was probably meant for Squall's future record-keeping for Calm Bounty.

Cloud settled into the desk chair and logged on, but Sora wasn't going to just let the conversation die.

He stood directly behind Cloud and watched as he accessed the internet that Sora hadn't even known had been set up out here. "If you're mad at Sephiroth, how come the two of you were... well..." He faltered as he remembered how downright passionate the two had seemed the other day when they had stumbled into the living room making out while Sora and Squall had been having a conversation. Sora nervously rubbed the back of his head. "..._you_ know... all over each other while he was here?"

Cloud didn't glance up from the monitor. "It's hard to explain."

Determined to find out, Sora leaned between Cloud and the screen and flashed him an expectant grin. With a frustrated sigh, Cloud gave him a pointed look for him to cut it out, but Sora didn't budge.

Cloud caved and dragged a hand through his spiky hair again. "Can't believe I'm going to say this..." He sat back in the office chair, fully focusing on Sora now. "Look, it's not Seph's fault my girlfriend broke up with me. He _started _it, yeah, but... I kept going back to him. She was bound to find out about the fling I was having with him, but I didn't care at the time. It's my fault."

Sora's brows knitted. "Then... why did you act like you hated him?"

Crossing his arms, Cloud lowered his gaze in thought. "Sometimes when you like someone, and you know you _shouldn't_," he said, "it's easy to lash out. To get mad. To pretend you actually hate him and that it's all his fault. Especially when he... does things that hurt you. But you still can't resist going back to him."

Sora listened in silence, trying to imagine what kinds of things Sephiroth might have done to Cloud to hurt him, and what in the world Cloud saw behind all of Sephiroth's intimidation that was worth that pain.

He hoped he never go to that stage with Riku. A week ago when he had still been denying his feelings for Riku, he had never really blamed Riku or gotten mad at him for it. It was a little hard for him to imagine Cloud's situation, but he could sorta see how it could happen.

And then... it made him wonder if that was why Riku hated Axel so much. Did Riku only act like he hated him? Deep down, was that hate only there because Riku still had major feelings for Axel?

"Anyway," Cloud murmured. "I _am _mad at him. But when he got here, I realized that didn't really matter."

"Why?" Sora wondered.

"Because I still wanted to see him." Cloud's eyes rose to meet Sora's again, and his mouth tilted into a half smile, as if mocking himself. "All that fighting..." He shook his head. "It meant nothing. He showed up and I remembered _why_ I put up with his mind games."

"So why do you put up with Sephiroth's mind games?"

Cloud gave a dry laugh and tilted his head back, his eyes slipping shut. "He really turns me on."

Cheeks reddening, Sora released a soft but awkward laugh of his own. He never would have expected to hear something like that from _Cloud_. But the more he thought about it, the more Sora found himself smiling at the statement, as bold as it had been. It reminded him of how his heart always did a little dance whenever Riku walked into the room. Sort of like what Axel was saying the other night—you can't look away because you might miss something. Cloud must have felt the same way about Sephiroth, only he didn't know how to explain it with Axel's eloquence.

"I think I get it," he said. He didn't exactly agree about Cloud's situation with Sephiroth, but he kind of understood it now.

Cloud glanced at him with a knowing curl to his lips. "Riku?"

Uh-oh. Sora recognized that look. It meant teasing was imminent, and it was time to hightail it out of there. "Y-Yeah," he admitted, then cleared his throat and turned away from Cloud and the computer. He'd had plenty of teasing from Axel and his mom already. Lucky him, he had a good deterrent for Cloud. "Hey, have you seen Squall anywhere? I need to ask him if he wants to go to the beach, too."

Much to his surprise, Cloud didn't react with the same antagonism he would have a few days ago. Instead, he grew passive and returned his attention to the computer. "He's probably upstairs."

Sora's embarrassment faded back into curiosity. "You guys stopped fighting?"

Cloud's fingers flew across the keyboard faster than anyone he'd ever seen type before, as he accessed what looked like his personal email. Sora resisted the urge to lean forward and peek, and Cloud responded as he continued typing out a message to someone. "We weren't fighting in the first place." His fingers slowed to a stop. "He's not that bad. Still don't like him, but he stays out of my way, so I can't complain."

The problem was that Squall seemed to be staying out of everyone's way lately. Sora knew he was the quiet loner type, but he was used to Squall at least lingering in a corner downstairs working on something. He probably _was _still upstairs. Had he even eaten anything today? Or last night?

Getting a little worried now, Sora gave Cloud a quick thanks and turned to leave the office, prepared to find out what was wrong with Squall.

Slamming face-first into Riku wasn't part of that plan.

"Gah!"

"Whoa—!"

That second one was Riku, who burst into laughter and held Sora steady so he wouldn't fall onto his ass, which he had been about to do. What was _with _Sora and always bumping into people in the hallway?! He rubbed his bruised nose and lifted his face, unable to help a small pout as he met Riku's smiling gaze.

"Klutz," came the tease, and Riku raised a hand to tug on one of Sora's eartails. "You ready to get going? Selphie showed up with a small army."

But Sora was hardly listening. Riku's other hand was still resting on Sora's hip, which was where he realized Riku had placed it, and—_wow_—Riku never failed to look amazing even when he wasn't trying.

Sora's heart gave its usual flutter as he studied Riku, from the way he had his long silver hair tied into a ponytail, to the skintight blue and yellow surfing shirt, to the board shorts that were black with pale blue accents. Maybe there was something about seeing Riku in beach gear or maybe it was just the knowledge that _he_ was _with _him now, but Sora found himself studying the details of Riku's arms bared by the tight short sleeves, of the flash of skin at his waist that wasn't completely covered by his shirt, and the hints of muscle around his abdomen, and—

"Are you checking me out?"

Riku's amused words snapped Sora right out of his mental drooling.

"No!" Then, realizing that had been too quick— "Y-Yes!"

Riku quirked a brow, and Sora faltered again.

"I mean..."

"That's good enough for me," Riku said, eyes narrowing with playful intent as he grabbed a fistful of Sora's shirt and pulled him close.

He tilted his face and leaned close, his lips hovering above Sora's a moment as Sora's heart leapt into his throat and his stomach turned to mush. Then Riku's mouth descended on his, and the anxious knot inside of him melted away into warmth.

As their lips glided together, Riku's fingers gently squeezed his hip, sending tectonic little thrills through his gut. The kiss was just a soft little exchange, lips to lips and brush of tongue or two—or three—and it hardly lasted a minute, but when Riku's lips separated from his, Sora felt his knees wobble at the sudden sensations dancing inside of him.

Aside from the lingering feel of Riku's tongue against his, Sora couldn't help giving a goofy smile at the thought that there was truth behind the whole 'getting weak in the knees' thing he'd always assumed was an exaggeration.

Riku took one look at his face and laughed, cupping Sora's warm cheek. "What is _that_?"

Smile growing into a grin, Sora leaned up, nose touching Riku's. "What's what?"

"That look on your face," Riku said with a smile of his own. "Like you swallowed a chocolate whale."

"A chocolate _whale_?"

"Hey, it was the first age-appropriate thing I could think of."

"We're not children," Sora pointed out, poking his finger against Riku's chest with each word.

As if Sora had taken the bait, Riku's expression turned impish. "That's right, you're _legal_..." His other hand slid down to Sora's side, tugging his hips closer to Riku's, as he brushed their lips together again and murmured in a suggestive tone. "That makes it safe for me to check you out in return, I guess."

This time as Riku's mouth captured his, Sora's stomach tumbled with excitement. Riku's words ballooned inside of him, making him feel as if he _could _float away if someone untethered him from the ground. And the tease of fingers on his waist, playing just under the bottom hem of his shirt to stroke his bare skin, sent a delightful little shiver through him.

Sora couldn't resist the happy sound that escaped him as he returned the kiss, Riku's lips warm and yielding yet confident beneath his own, and he felt Riku's pull of a smile in response to that sound. The movements of the kiss were smooth, a gentle give and take at first until Sora became more accustomed with the giving aspect, pleased when he nibbled Riku's bottom lip and felt Riku's hand tense against his hip in encouragement. And encouraged, he was.

These kisses were his choice, not under the pretense of some silly pretend boyfriend scheme. Riku wanted them. Sora wanted them. Riku wanted _him_. Sora had no doubt of that now, not with Riku's blatant flirts. Sora had never been at the end of such a crush before—and this was more than just a childhood crush now. He still didn't really know how to handle the intensity of Riku's feelings, either, but—

He sure was enjoying it. At this point, he didn't even care anymore if Riku was a guy. It just felt _right_.

And when Riku's lips parted from his, Sora released a pleased sigh. Riku's fingers stroked through his hair as their noses nuzzled, and Sora leaned up to kiss him again, this one chaste, but his _own_.

Riku pulled back with a satisfied murmur. "You're getting good at that."

"Kissing?" Sora asked with a renewed grin.

"Well, that and making me want to jump you," Riku admitted.

Sora's thoughts leapt into the gutter. His body well remembered how Riku's hand had felt against him, and that memory coupled with Riku's suggestion left Sora's mind reeling with possibilities. Was it too fast? He didn't know how relationships worked, but his reluctance from a week ago had grown into nervous anticipation instead. He was beginning to think his mom was right when she had said that guys only had one thing on their minds.

With a timid laugh, Sora lowered his face and curled his fingers into the bottom of Riku's tight shirt. He could feel the warmth of Riku's body radiating off of him, and there was that bare patch of skin near his waist where his shirt had risen up even higher... Sora tentatively traced his fingertips over it, liking the way Riku arched into his touch.

Sora was saved from having to reply to Riku's flirt by a couple of giggles from the stairs.

Kairi and Selphie were watching them from behind the banister, but judging by how conspicuous they were being, they didn't seem to care they were interrupting. At least they hadn't interrupted the kiss or—wait, how long had they been there?!

Sora's face flamed at the thought of what they might have seen.

"Heehee, Sora finally noticed us," Selphie whispered loudly.

"I can _hear _you," he said, whirling towards them. That was when he noticed a blushing Tidus and an awkward Wakka hovering in the hall near the living room. Sora's eyes widened. "Wh-When did all of you guys get here?!"

"Don' look at me, man," Wakka laughed. "I jus' got here."

"I _told _you," Riku said with a chuckle. "That's why I went to find you, you goof."

Oh, right. Riku had mentioned something about Selphie arriving with a small army, now that he thought about it.

Selphie giggled harder and pulled Kairi out from behind the banister. Kairi's cheeks were almost as bright as her strawberry red bikini halter top. Like Riku, she had her long hair pulled up, only with a pair of fancy sunglasses perched on her head, a flowery white and pink sarong hanging from her waist, and a pair of butterfly flip-flops. She looked cute. Really cute. And so did Selphie, who had her new cowboy hat perched on her head, and was wearing an orange and yellow bikini and low-riding denim shorts.

Tidus and Wakka were more like Sora and had chosen simple—old shirts that could get sandy and wet, and some shorts easy to swim in. Tidus's blush was still in place, and Sora dreaded to know how much he had seen. And Wakka! Oh, man...

Sora gave a nervous laugh and pulled away from Riku. "O-Oh, well—it looks like we're all here!" But then he remembered where he had been going when he had bumped into Riku. "Except Squall!" And before anyone could question what he was doing, he zipped past them and flew up the stairs, stomping the whole way.

He was almost positive he knew what Squall was going to say, but going to see the older man not only gave him the opportunity to calm himself down, it was an excuse to see what was up with Squall's mysterious self-quarantine.

He paused outside the closed door to catch his breath, glad to be away from the girls before they could get started on teasing him, too. Beyond the door he could hear _something_.

Curious, he peeked the door open without knocking, and the sound got louder.

Sora froze in the doorway.

Deep-voiced breathlessness, soft panting, and the rustle of cloth.

Silky brown hair damp with sweat, sticking to the sides of a lean, flawless neck.

The bared arch of Squall's back, the elegant curve of his shoulder blades, and the dip of his spine.

The muscular sweep of defined abs, biceps, and thighs—

Or what Sora could see of those thighs through Squall's loose workout pants.

He was in the middle of doing curl-ups.

Sora had been expecting him to be glued to his laptop typing or doing something equally boring, yet here he was. Working out. And holy crap, Sora had _not _been expecting to get an eyeful of Squall's lean, toned body. Sora hadn't known Squall was _that _in shape. How did he hide all of that beneath his clothes, anyway?

Clearing his throat, Sora tore his eyes away, not wanting to be accused of checking another person out, let alone someone who wasn't Riku. Not that Sora had been ogling Riku's ex-boyfriend (or whatever).

At the interruption, Squall did three more curl-ups before he lay back against the floor, sucking in ragged breaths as he closed his eyes, trying to help his lungs catch up with his heart. As Sora let him recuperate from his intense work-out, he turned his eyes towards the desk where—lo and behold—Squall's laptop was sitting. Open. Without a screensaver.

On the screen was what looked like a professional advertisement, probably for some cologne. It featured Riku, nude except for the fuzzy, deep brown blanket wrapped around his shoulders, and the older man whose arm was draped across his blanketed backside.

Sora recognized the other guy immediately.

Leon.

Well, Squall—but Leon was his model name.

Leon's gaze was intense, staring out at the camera as if _daring_ the audience—or cameraman—to try taking Riku from him. Leon was fully clothed, in an elegant suit with the first few buttons undone, with his loose tie curled in Riku's hand. Riku wasn't glancing at the camera at all, but instead had his face lifted towards Leon's neck as if breathing in whatever scent the older man was wearing.

The ad didn't quite seem complete, though. What was Squall doing with it open on his laptop?

But as Sora drew close to inspect it further, a hand intercepted and shut the computer right in front of him.

"Work," Squall explained, then pulled his hand away and grabbed the tall glass of water on the desk nearby. As he began chugging it, Sora noticed that the glass was frosty, which meant Squall had to have been downstairs recently. Sora didn't realize he was staring at him until Squall had finished the entire glass of water and wiped his mouth, catching Sora's gaze. "What?"

Sora straightened. "Oh, uh..." He wet his lips nervously, wondering why he was getting such a heavy vibe from him. Squall had never been the friendly type, but he had always been sorta soft towards Sora. "I was gonna ask if you wanted to go to the beach with us. A group of us are going, even Riku..."

Squall dragged a hand through his damp hair and looked away, disinterested. "I'll pass."

"You busy?" Sora asked, though it was more cautious than anything. Not that he was scared of Squall—it was just that he didn't want Squall to be even grumpier with him.

The look on Squall's face went from nonchalant to something like "what's it to you?" and Sora decided that something had definitely changed between them, something he didn't like.

Lowering his eyes, Sora fought to keep from frowning. "Did I... do something wrong?"

From the corner of his eye, he saw Squall studying him for a long moment. Silence spread between them as Sora waited for an answer, and it was so long of a silence that Sora would have given anything to know what was going through Squall's head at that very moment.

Finally, with a heavy sigh, he got his answer.

"It's not you."

That was it?

Sora glanced up in question, but Squall wasn't looking at him anymore. "Was it Riku?"

"It was me," Squall said without pause, probably intending for the conversation to end there.

But Sora wasn't going to let him get away with his grumpiness so easily. "What'd you do?"

Another sigh, this one frustrated. He probably wasn't used to having people stick around after he gave them the cold shoulder, but Sora could see something was bothering him, and Sora wasn't the type to leave a friend in need. Even if that friend didn't know he was a friend or that he was in need.

Squall turned away and grabbed the white shirt hanging off the back of his desk chair. "It's none of your business."

So, Squall was going to be stubborn, was he?

Sora folded his arms and sat on the desk chair, lips pursed. Never mind that the others were waiting for him downstairs. "You can't sulk about it up here for the rest of the month, whatever it is," he pointed out. "And I don't want you to be moody the entire time, either, so..."

Squall slipped his shirt on, not even bothering to pull it all the way down. He seemed like he was in a hurry—was Sora's presence making him uncomfortable? Or maybe it was the fact Sora wasn't giving up yet.

When Squall said nothing, Sora made a more sympathetic attempt. "Squall... I'm not trying to bug you. I was just worried, and if you don't want to talk about it, it's alright. But you know—" He paused, offering a smile even though Squall wasn't looking. "If you ever _do _need to talk, I'm all ears. And it'd be between the two of us. I'm not like my mom or some of the other girls who blab everything they hear..."

Which wasn't entirely true. Selphie was apparently great at keeping secrets, since Sora used to have no clue Tidus had a thing for him—then again, Sora knew he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box when it came to people. It was possible Selphie had tried to tell Sora at some point but he had failed to notice. But that was beside the point.

"You're wasting your breath, kid," Squall said with another sigh. He unplugged his laptop and tucked it under an arm before he finally faced Sora again, expression giving nothing away. "Enjoy the beach. Make sure Riku doesn't get too sunburned..."

Sora swiveled on the chair, resting his chin on the back as he pouted up at the older man. "You could come with us and make sure of it yourself," he suggested.

He received a withering look in return. "Like I said, I'll pass." Turning towards the door, he added, "Besides, he has you for that now."

Sora caught a hint of regret there in his tone. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Squall said nothing as he left the room.

Quickly getting up to follow him, Sora trailed after him in the hallway. "Where are you going?"

"Somewhere quieter," came the muttered response. "I have work to do."

"You mean that photo on your laptop?" Sora asked, cutting him off at the stairs. A heavy frown crossed Squall's face, but Sora continued, undeterred. "What was it for? It didn't look like one of Axel's photos."

"It wasn't."

"Then whose—"

"It was Sephiroth's," Squall interrupted, the irritation clear in his voice. "He gave it to me to work on while he was here. Now move."

"Sora, you done yet?" Riku called up the stairs, and Sora took that as his cue to get going. The day wasn't getting any longer, and the beach awaited. He'd get back to drilling Squall for information later.

Sora flashed Squall a smile and started to edge onto the first step, holding onto the banister. "Gotta run. Whatever's wrong with you, I hope you feel better!" Then he turned and bounded down the stairs to join up with the others, leaving Squall at the top of the landing. When he glanced back up, Squall was already gone, probably retreated to his room now that it was safe to do so.

Sora didn't offer Riku an explanation as to his long absence, but Riku took one glance at Sora, then the stairs, and seemed to understand without question.

Like before, Riku reached out and grasped the bottom edge of Sora's shirt to pull him close, his playfulness already returning. "Being nosy again?"

"He was being grumpy, so I tried to find out why," Sora explained. He opted to leave out the details; he didn't think Riku would approve of his purposeful pestering.

"Ahhh," Riku said with a knowing smile. "Well, when he gets like that, it's better to just leave him alone for a few days. He'll lighten up after he's had time to think through whatever's eating at him."

Maybe so, but Sora couldn't shake the feeling that Squall was grumpy because of _him _somehow, despite what had been said. He thought back to one of his first long talks with Squall, when Squall had insisted things were over between him and Riku. Had that been true...? Or had that just been a reassurance to push him closer to Riku?

No...

The way Squall acted around Riku was too different from how he acted around everyone else. Like when Riku had been sleeping on the couch—the way Squall had smiled and talked about him, and the way he had even carried Riku up the stairs and tucked him in.

Maybe things were over between Squall and Riku, but maybe Squall didn't want them to be. If that was the case, seeing Riku with Sora would have been kind of painful... That would explain why he was suddenly avoiding them now that they were officially together.

Which meant Squall would _never_ get over whatever was eating at him.

"Come ooooon, guys!" Selphie whined, swinging the beach bag Sora had prepared. She must have gotten it from his mom when he had been upstairs. "I wanna get all the shells before the high tide comes in!"

Sora grinned at her and (reluctantly) pulled away from Riku. "Okay, okay."

As Wakka opened the front door, Selphie darted outside with an excited holler, Tidus close behind her, carrying the small cooler of food and a boogie board, shaking his head but laughing at her. Kairi and Wakka followed, Kairi carrying a big basket for shells and a cloth purse, while Wakka swung a closed parasol onto his shoulder. Even Riku was holding something—a large beach blanket so they wouldn't have to sit on their towels and get them dirty.

And when Riku stepped into the sunlight behind the others, Sora paused in the doorway to watch him descend the porch steps to the front walk. A smile was lighting Riku's face as he glanced up into the late morning sky, the sunlight glinting off the shades he now had perched on his head—inspired by Kairi's, maybe?

Riku hesitated and looked back to see what was holding Sora up, but Sora only returned the smile, his heart buoyant with happiness. How had everything turned out this perfect? Sora wished, at that moment, he could stop time for just a little while and revel in how amazing Riku looked, how amazing he himself _felt _just standing there, reflecting on the great day and his friendships and his relationship.

Then again—he _could _stop time...

Axel had given him the answer.

Gasping, Sora hurried onto the porch, slamming the front door shut behind him. "Go on without me, I'll catch up in a minute!" he yelled, racing across the street to his own house. He heard Riku calling after to him to ask what he was doing, but Sora didn't stop to explain. He ran right upstairs to his room and retrieved the camera bag Axel had given him.

Taking a moment to pull the camera out and make sure it hadn't suddenly broken or died since yesterday, Sora felt his stomach dance when he heard the cheerful chime of the awakening camera. All set to go. He turned it off and put it away before he slipped the camera bag onto his shoulder and rushed back downstairs to see if he could catch up with his friends.

Riku was waiting for him on the porch.

He took one look at the camera and lifted his brows. He must not have known Axel had given Sora one of them. Sora realized then that maybe Riku wouldn't be completely comfortable with _Sora_ taking pictures of him. He could imagine it was different posing for a camera for work versus getting caught on camera just for fun.

"Erm..." Sora faltered, his fingers playing nervously with the strap of the bag. "It's alright if I take pictures of you, right...?"

The expression that filtered across Riku's face was one that Sora hadn't anticipated—but it was more than welcome. Warmth. Fondness. Acceptance. Genuine, open, and reassuring.

He didn't say anything.

Reaching out, he cupped the back of Sora's head as he drew near, setting the blanket down. Then he gently pushed Sora against the vine trellis, his fingers curling in Sora's hair as he closed the remaining distance between them.

This kiss felt different than the others. There was something tender about the way Riku guided him into it, more than just warm lips and a touch of tongue—more than just an exciting taste of a new relationship—more than just Riku's eager confidence over winning Sora's affections.

This was Riku. Walls down. Heart opened.

Sora felt the tenderness grow inside of him, too, and the kiss was second to that feeling. All the kisses before had taken priority, but this one was what a kiss was meant to be—something from one of those silly fairytales that had lied to him all his life up until this point. It was a show of compassion, untainted by Riku's experiences and ego, untainted by Sora's insecurities, untainted by physical attraction.

It was their hearts connecting in a way Sora had never felt before.

And when their lips separated, Sora met Riku's eyes, and he knew what that feeling was. He knew it because he saw it there in Riku's soft smile and felt it when Riku slipped a hand into his with gentle reassurance. He had seen it within Riku before, but things were definitely different now.

This love wasn't so one-sided anymore.

Without releasing Sora's hand, Riku slipped his sunglasses on and picked up the beach blanket from where he had set it. "Let's catch up with the others," he said, focused on the present once again, though a deep affection still lingered in his voice.

Heart still soaring, Sora nodded, not trusting his voice for fear that his heart would escape with it. Whether or not Riku could recognize the love on his face, he accepted Sora's silence with a quiet laugh.

Then, hand in hand, they descended the steps of the porch together.

-o-o-

* * *

Sorry for the short transition chapter, but I tried to make it as interesting as possible. XD We're moving on to the second portion of the main plot, now that the first is over, so things should get exciting again very soon! (Just to tease, the next chapter is named "And Everything Changed," dun dun dun!)

Also, since I am going to try keeping chapters shorter from now on (not _this _short though), there's now more than six parts left to the story, ehehehe. I'm still hoping updates will be much faster from now on—for real this time!—especially with my other stories coming to a close soon.

Thank you for your patience and support!


	18. Ch 18: And Everything Changed

_Author's Notes:_

Spring is upon us! I can't say I miss college, but I do miss the freshness of waking up on the first day of Spring Break. If you go to the beach, hopefully your experience is much better than Riku's. Hehehe. (I know it's summer in the story, shushhh.)

And as always, thank you so much for all of the support and reviews! This story will need them more than ever in the next coming chapters...

* * *

_**Chapter Eighteen: And Everything Changed**_

-o-o-

For the first time in eleven years, Sora felt like he belonged.

He stood at the shoreline, staring out over the golden sand back towards where Tidus and Wakka were fussing with the parasol and Selphie and Kairi were spreading out the beach blanket, and he couldn't help smiling.

A day at the beach with friends. It sounded so normal that Tidus and the others probably didn't think twice about it. But to Sora, it meant the world.

Turning his gaze out to water, he lifted his camera and studied the seascape through the LCD screen. A rainstorm was expected later, but at the moment the weather was calm. There weren't even any dark clouds looming on the horizon, not yet. High overhead, the clouds drifted across the sky like stretched cotton candy, and below, the dark cerulean sea was punctuated by the white crests of waves—not too low, not too high.

Today was the perfect day for spending time here.

Sora closed his eyes and breathed deep, reveling in the salty, fishy tang and the cry of the gulls hovering overhead. A warm breeze rustled his hair, but it felt cool against his skin, which had been warmed by the summer sun and dampened from the spray of the small waves at his feet.

Behind him, he heard the whisper of shifting sand turn into the soft padding of feet against the wet shore, and he turned to meet Riku, somehow knowing it'd be him.

Riku's gaze was distant as he, too, stared out to sea. "It hasn't changed..."

"It's the ocean. Did you expect it to?" Sora asked, his smile playful. He aimed his camera low, zooming in on Riku's feet sinking into the wet sand. A small wave rippled forward, dowsing the shore again and covering Riku's toes. Sora snapped a quick shot, grinning when he saw the results. They had been too quick to spot by eye, but in the photo he had captured two tiny fish caught in the receding water.

"A little," Riku admitted. "I expected it to seem smaller, but it's just as big as I remember it..." A fond smile touched his lips as he moved into the shallow water.

Sora followed him, keeping focused on the ankle-high water, noticing more tiny fish gathering around their feet. Riku didn't notice them until they began nipping at his toes. It didn't feel like much—sorta like a very soft tap—only there were about a dozen, so it kind of tickled.

"Why do they do that?" Riku wondered, but the smile was evident in his voice.

Taking another picture, Sora grinned. "To eat the dead skin off your feet."

The look that crossed Riku's face was priceless, somewhere between disgusted and fascinated.

Sora just laughed and reached out to grab his wrist, tugging him back towards the others as he switched the camera off. "Come on, let's get some sunscreen on you."

Wakka and Tidus had succeeded in standing the parasol up and were now joking loudly about something Sora had missed, but Kairi was blushing and Selphie was giggling as she spread sunscreen on Kairi's back.

Riku rubbed the back of his neck beneath his ponytail as he and Sora trudged through the hot sand, passing through the grainy layer with bits of shells and moving into the softer, powdery layer of sand. "It's really bright," Riku commented. He started to lower his sunglasses over his eyes.

"Yeah," Sora said, "but don't keep those on long or you'll get a really dorky suntan. The light reflecting off the sand and water can give you a pretty nasty sunburn, not just the sun itself." He reached for the sunscreen once they were beneath the parasol. "Take off your shirt."

Quirking a brow, Riku slipped his sunglasses off, and behind them, Selphie gave another loud giggle, this time at them and not the others. Sora suddenly felt everyone's eyes on him and Riku, and he tried hard not to get embarrassed. Tidus and Wakka already had their shirts off, so why did Selphie have to make a deal out of Riku? Or maybe it was the way Sora had said it...

After folding his sunglasses and setting them down, Riku swooped his shirt off and dumped it on the beach blanket with his towel and sandals. Sora had seen him shirtless several times before—heck, Riku had been shirtless when Sora had seen him for the first time in eleven years—but seeing Riku's toned chest was a new experience every time he had the opportunity.

He really was something straight out of a magazine or movie, and Sora maintained his opinion that Riku was perfectly built—not too bulky, not too slender even though he _was _slender, and his masculinity somehow accented his, well, prettiness. It was a lot like Sephiroth, now that Sora thought about it, except Sephiroth was way more elegant and Riku still carried an obvious boyishness about him.

"Earth to Sora." Riku waved a hand in front of his face, smirking. "Checking me out again?"

Sora blinked out of his thoughts and realized he had kind of zoned out. Tidus and the others had already started talking again, discussing whether or not they should eat before getting in the water, and their casual attitudes reminded Sora again that a shirtless guy was normal. Ahhhhbsolutely _normal_. Even Riku.

...was it his imagination, or were Tidus, Selphie, and Kairi being obvious about sneaking glances at Riku? Wakka, on the other hand, seemed oblivious.

Smiling, Sora found comfort in the knowledge that he wasn't the only one who couldn't resist admiring him. Axel's words tugged at his mind, reassuring him that it was natural for people to act like this around Riku. That was a definite boost for his confidence.

"It's kind of hard not to," Sora said, resisting the urge to turn his camera back on. He set it down. Sunscreen first, before Riku turned into a lobster. Sora squeezed a liberal amount into his hand before handing Riku the bottle. "Hold this."

Riku inspected the label. "Paopu Milk?" He sniffed the opening, then flinched as Sora's hand and the cold lotion hit his chest. "Ack!"

Unable to hide a grin, Sora smeared the lotion across his chest and patted his arm. "Rub it in," he said. "And turn around so I can get your back for you."

"I know how to put sunscreen on," Riku said as he obediently turned around, and Sora snerked at how defensive that sounded.

"Could've fooled me," he teased. With Riku's back facing him, Sora openly admired the dip of his shoulder blades and the curve of his spine, noticing the stray freckle or two against his pale skin. His _soft _skin, Sora mused to himself, as he ran his slick fingers along the elegant lines of Riku's back.

Sora didn't think a guy could have such a beautiful back, but there it was, right beneath his fingertips. It made him feel so plain in comparison, but he guessed it didn't really matter; Riku probably made a lot of guys—and girls, for that matter—green with envy. Except Squall... Sora remembered the eyeful of muscle he'd gotten when he'd walked in on Squall doing curl-ups not even an hour ago.

It made Sora appreciate that at least their fit bodies hadn't been given to them naturally; even Riku had confessed that he did a lot of swimming in order to keep in shape, but hadn't gotten a chance since arriving here on the islands.

As his hands slid along the muscles of Riku's back, rubbing the lotion into his skin, he glanced at Riku's own hands as they worked into his front, fingers passing over nipples, grazing his collar bones, slipping low to run over the firm contours of his abdomen...

Goosebumps tickled up his arms as he thought about what it would feel like to touch him himself, but... he wasn't so sure he was _that _confident yet. He'd enjoy his ogling for now.

Well, as long as he could...

When he lifted his gaze from Riku's body, he noticed people were staring. Not his friends, no—past them, farther down the beach, where a group of teenagers younger than them had set up their blankets and towels, and even farther than that where a mother and her grade school son were walking the shoreline.

Sora was suddenly aware of eyes at his back, probably another family watching him 'feel up' his boyfriend. Cheeks warming in shame, he quickly finished with Riku's back, a flutter of nervousness in his stomach as he touched the small of Riku's back and the jut of his hips.

He knew he shouldn't have been ashamed of himself. People helped each other put lotion on all the time out here. Selphie had helped Kairi—two girls!—but no one had given them a second glance. Sora knew he and Riku were only being stared at because of what Riku was. Well, and Sora now, too...

He felt his heart sink when he saw the mother wrap an arm around her son and steer him the opposite way so he couldn't even look at Riku or Sora. The glare she sent their way—it was more than just disapproving. It was downright accusing. He never thought he'd miss the banality of everyone's "How ya doin'?" every time he'd walk outside, but he would gladly take that over their prejudice any day.

"Done?"

Riku's question drew him back into focus, and Sora realized his hands had paused on Riku's hips. Startled, he pulled his hands away as if he'd been bitten. "Y-Yeah, all done!"

Riku turned to give him a bewildered look, but if he suspected Sora of any discomfort, he didn't question him. Sora offered him a reassuring smile and, noticing a smudge of lotion on Riku's nose, laughed as he wiped it off.

"Come on, guys!" Selphie called, waving one of the wrapped sandwiches at them. "You can grope each other later. Let's eat!"

It was Wakka who broke into laughter—not the nervous polite kind, but his usual Wakka laugh that Sora had grown to know little by little over the years. "Yeah, man, 'cuz me 'n Tidus ain't goin' easy on ya. We're gonna beach blitz."

Tidus grinned at them, perched atop the blitzball Wakka had brought. "It's about time we show the new guy _our _kind of entertainment."

"I'm not exactly hopeless at sports, you know," Riku returned with a smirk. "But maybe I'll get a chance to see what appealed to Sephiroth."

It was impossible to miss the way Tidus froze at the mention of Sephiroth's name. What _was _easy to miss was how purposeful Riku's ambiguity had been. If Sora hadn't known much about Sephiroth or Riku, he would have assumed Riku had meant "what appealed to Sephiroth about blitzball," but Sora had the distinct feeling Riku had actually meant, "what appealed to Sephiroth about _you_." And somehow, Sora knew Tidus had caught onto the subtle tease, too.

"Maybe," Tidus agreed, matching Riku's smirk. Was it just Sora's imagination, or was there something else brewing between those two? It wasn't hostile by far, but there was a hint of challenge that went beyond their current discussion...

Brushing it off for now, Sora quickly applied his own sunscreen, and despite his apprehension about being in public, he couldn't resist nodding when Riku offered to do his back for him, too. The feel of his fingers against his back sent undeniable little thrills through him, along with shivers he was sure Riku felt. He'd let other people put sunscreen on him before, but everything with Riku was a new experience.

When Riku finished, Sora released a reluctant sigh, his body still brimming with a quiet happiness but wanting more attention. The others were already eating, though, so he focused on the here and now and moved to join them.

He settled onto the blanket next to the girls, Riku beside him, and Kairi handed them their sandwiches. Her cheeks colored when Riku actually smiled at her in thanks. It had been such a crazy last few days that Sora had forgotten Kairi probably still had a thing for Riku because of how much he looked like Sephiroth.

But Sora wasn't worried. He had long ago learned his lesson for assuming Riku would rather choose a pretty girl like her over him. After the incredible things Riku and Axel had told him—about why Riku had come back here, and all—Sora's confidence in Riku's feelings had become well tethered.

He still didn't quite understand Riku's strange reasoning for taking all those risks, but what mattered was that Riku _had_ taken those risks in the first place just for the one in a million chance of being with Sora. And, in a roundabout way, he had given Sora the courage to begin breaking out of his shell of insecurity.

Sora was still breaking through that shell, piece by piece by piece, but it was getting easier as he spent more time with Riku.

He ate his sandwich with great leisure, enjoying how easily Riku got along with the others. It wasn't as natural as if he'd been friends with them for years or anything, but Sora was glad that, out of the entire island, he was surrounded by the tiny percentage who had no problem with Riku's sexuality.

Despite the rough first acquaintance the two of them had had, even Kairi had relaxed completely around Riku; Sora could tell from the richness of her laughter, which was completely unlike her giggling when she was around her other less tolerant girl friends.

Kairi's little retinue had been attached to her hip ever since the start of high school, but ever since Riku had blown her off and Seiya had reprimanded her, Kairi had changed... Sora hadn't really seen her with any of the other girls, just Selphie. It made Sora wonder about what kinds of excuses Kairi was giving her other friends in order to hang out more around Calm Bounty.

Tidus, too. Sora was surprised that Bickson and his gang weren't giving Tidus a hard time about hanging around the "fairy" house so often. Though it was possible Tidus just wasn't saying anything about it...

Sora glanced at the other boy, who caught his eye and gave him a sunny smile. For the first time ever, Sora noticed that Tidus got a dimple in his cheek when he did that. He smiled back, unable to resist.

Tidus laughed and rubbed the back of his head, looking down almost modestly, but no one else noticed the change in Tidus's expression because Selphie and Wakka's unrelated laughter overwhelmed his.

The hint of shyness was a fresh reminder of what he had overheard Tidus talking about with Selphie. Tidus had a crush on him. A week wouldn't have changed that, even if the week had changed a lot of _other_ things. Sora had an inkling that maybe that was why Tidus and Riku seemed to have that subtle yet friendly tension between them.

Tidus: the long-time acquaintance and friend with a secret crush, versus Riku: the childhood best friend turned boyfriend who showed up randomly after eleven years... It was like one of those weird romance movies Kairi and the girls would (well, used to) make him watch. And Sora wasn't so sure he liked playing the role of the girl.

As they ate, Riku noted how the seagulls had begun to gather around them, and Sora laughed at the nervous observation. He'd lived around seagulls all his life, so he'd forgotten how intimidating they could seem whenever they horded around people with food.

"Just don't feed them. It only encourages them," Sora said after explaining that to Riku.

"And ya don't wanna get pooped on!" Selphie added.

Riku made a face, eyed the seagulls eyeing his sandwich, and continued eating.

After their quick lunch, Selphie dragged Kairi off to look for shells before the tide came in, and Sora joined the guys in a rough game of beach blitzball—but rough only because they had just four players and beach blitzball was nothing like the real sport. What mattered was the thrill of competition.

Even though it was Wakka and Tidus versus him and Riku—two star blitzball players versus a former benchwarmer and a newbie—not a fair match, by far—it still felt great to race around in the surf and dive after the ball. And he and Riku weren't terrible, not really, but Wakka and Tidus were just too good.

Surprisingly, Riku kept up rather well with the athletes, even while slowed down by the shallow water and waves; it was Sora who collapsed into surf first and laughed about how graduating had made get him out of shape. The four of them played until the gap between their scores started getting ridiculous and they decided Sora'd had enough exercise.

A grin on his face, Riku trudged towards Sora through the small waves. He radiated happiness. Even dripping head to toe in sea water, he looked amazing. His hair, still in a ponytail but no longer perfect, was soaked and darkened, loose locks hugging the sides of his neck and cheeks.

His wet lashes somehow made his eyes more arresting than the cyan sky, which had finally begun to show signs of rain far, far in the distance—just a hazier light blue now, but Sora knew that within the few hours, they'd begin to see some darker clouds.

And his shorts, drenched and hugging his fit thighs and butt, were clinging to his hips with desperation, proudly displaying the prominent v-shape of his lower abdomen. Sora felt something flutter in his gut with both admiration and envy. No doubt he looked like a lanky dork in comparison...

When Riku reached him, he dragged his fingers through his loose bangs, pushing them back as he laughed, a little breathless. "That was intense—and fun," he admitted, referring to the informal blitzball game. Then his gaze raked down Sora's form, and that something in Sora's gut fluttered even more. "You okay?"

It was amazing how his body seemed to come alive whenever Riku was close to him. "Yeah," Sora said with a smile. "Now that I'm not being pummeled by a blitzball."

Tidus and Wakka were already back on shore, loudly celebrating their landslide win. From the looks of it, the girls had returned from their shell collecting some time ago, and they were now sitting together beneath the parasol, Axel's camera between the two of them as they looked at something on the LCD screen.

Sora's heart jumped when he realized that the pictures he and Axel had taken together were still on there! Not that he had taken a picture of anything embarrassing, but still—it was Axel's camera, and Sora realized maybe he should have told them to be careful with it if they touched it... Man, he hoped nothing humiliating _had _wound up on there; he hadn't checked through all the images yet. Trying not to fret, Sora thought about stomping over there and taking it from them.

Before he could make up his mind, he was distracted by Riku's fingers as they plucked a lock of hair off his cheek. Sora blinked and glanced up at the older boy, and his face heated up when he saw how intense Riku's gaze was.

"W-What?"

Riku rubbed the wet clump of dark hair between his fingers, studying it. "Your hair is longer than it looks." He smirked. "You know, when it's not defying gravity."

And Sora whapped him on the arm—right before Riku leaned in for a kiss.

When their lips came together, Sora tasted the salt of the sea and could smell it in Riku's hair. It wasn't bad, though; Sora just wasn't used to the scent lingering on Riku. Now it almost felt like he belonged here.

The tease already forgotten, Sora returned the kiss with a happy little hum. He felt Riku smile, then the brush of fingers against his hip, and Sora slowly pulled back. He licked his lips and looked away, unable to help mirroring the smile even though he was well aware of the groups of people in the water and along the beach around them. They probably shouldn't give too much of a show out here...

"Come on," Sora said, grabbing Riku's hand so he wouldn't feel deterred by the short kiss. "Let's get out of the sun for a few minutes."

Riku didn't seem to mind the idea one bit.

When they returned to their tiny camp beneath the parasol, Sora noticed that the tide had come in a few feet since they had been out in the water, but the waves still weren't anywhere near close enough for them to move their stuff. He and Riku settled on the beach blanket beneath the shade with the others, and while Sora reclaimed his camera from the girls, Riku turned his attention back out to the ocean.

Tidus and Wakka grabbed the boogie board and raced back to the water, and Sora saw a smile touch Riku's face as he watched them.

"Do they ever slow down?" he asked.

"Not really," Selphie giggled. She stripped Kairi's towel off of her and grabbed her arm. "Come on, Kairi, let's go get snow cones for everyone!"

Kairi stumbled to her feet, blushing a little. "W-Wah, okay... " She looked to Sora and Riku, her other arm folded over her bare stomach. "What flavors do you guys want?"

Sora leaned back on his elbows and grinned up at them. "Piña colada!" It felt like it had been months since he'd had a snow cone, so he definitely wasn't going to turn the offer down. "Thanks."

"Snow cones?" Riku asked with raised brows.

"There's a little line of concession stands on the boardwalk," Kairi explained. "They're not open all year, but definitely during the summer."

"Yeah, and they sell snow cones and melon and stuff!" Selphie added, already reaching for the bag she and Kairi had brought. "So, Sir Riku, what flavor ya want?"

"Surprise me," he said with a smile. Then he wrapped his arms around his knees and turned his attention back out to the sea, a peaceful expression crossing his face.

The girls sent Sora a knowing look that was unknown on _his _part, and with a chipper, "Be back in a few!" Selphie and Kairi were darting off through the sand together, whispering and giggling.

Sora really didn't understand girls.

He glanced at Riku, whose eyes were focused distantly at the waves. Silence spread between them, broken only by the susurrus of the wind against the sand, the crashing of the waves, and the occasional cry of a hungry gull. Sora watched Riku for a few moments, admiring the tranquility that seemed to have overcome him.

Then, in a quiet murmur: "Feels like... it's going to pull me in..."

Sora looked out to the sea again, this time drawn to Tidus and Wakka's laughter as they fought over the boogie board. "It can, if you're not careful," he said, digging his toes into the sand. "Sometimes, just after you've fallen off a surfboard or something, you can feel the rip tide tryin' to pull you out to sea..."

Riku turned towards him in question. "You know how to surf?"

"Yeah... Learned in middle school," Sora said, feeling a touch nostalgic. "That's when they started taking the kids to the beach every once in a while for kinesiology and stuff. Most of the girls hogged beach volleyball, and most of the guys liked their blitzball or relay racing..." He smiled, watching the wind blow white off the curling waves. "Me? I liked surfing. There were only ever a few boards, but only a few of us liked it enough to hog them."

"Really? I would have thought that surfing would be popular here..."

Sora laughed and shook his head. "Not here. The waves don't get very big because we don't have the impressive reefs that other places do. Once in a long while we'll get the occasional island to island boat race or kite surfing or water skiing, but that's more of a bigger island thing. Destiny Islands is quiet. Small." Pausing, Sora squinted into the horizon where the clouds were thickening even more. "The only times we get big waves are when storms are rolling in, and we would never go to the beach then because it was too dangerous. During school, I mean." He glanced at Riku again, smiling. "Still... it's nice. I should teach you some time. If I ever get a board."

Riku had turned his attention towards the water once again. The look in his eyes was faraway, as if the sea had enchanted him with its silent song. "We can surf next year, me and you... I'll get you a board."

The statement was said so softly, it was almost easy to dismiss. But to Sora, it meant the world. Not only did it mean Riku assumed that they would be coming back here next summer, it also meant Riku assumed the two of them would still be together. Maybe not together-together, but still together.

The thought made his heart feel like a buoy, bobbing around inside of him on waves of happiness, excitement, affection. Sora reached for Axel's camera without further hesitation and turned it on. Its soft chime didn't distract Riku, and for that, Sora was thankful. He took a few pictures of Riku's distant expression, getting the urge to capture as much of that mesmerized beauty as he could.

By the sixth picture, though, he noticed through the LCD screen that Riku had turned to look at him. He snapped a seventh picture, right before he heard the shuffle of legs and feet and found himself being tackled into the sand, Riku's grin reflected on the other side of the screen.

Sora yelped and laughed as Riku landed on top of him and began wrestling him for the camera—and Sora only let him have it for fear of it breaking or getting covered in sand. Not that it mattered. Riku turned it off and tossed it onto the blanket, then went back to wrestling Sora, grinning wide as Sora yelled and tried to defend himself—

Only for Riku's fingers to dig into his bare sides and begin to tickle him.

Howling with laughter, Sora thrashed and tried hitting and kicking him off, getting panicked when Riku seemed to evade his defenses way too easily—what was he, the Tickle King? That, plus the way his pounding heart was reminding him that even if Riku was just playing, he was still _touching _him, and Sora couldn't fight the blush that burned itself onto his face at the thought, or the sharp thrill that sang through his body.

And just when he thought things were getting too dangerous and too public, Riku had the perfect deterrence for his anxiety.

Riku stuffed a handful of sand down Sora's shorts.

"GWAAHH!"

Sora leapt to his feet and began hollering and dancing around to shake the sand out, while Riku collapsed onto the beach clutching his side with uncontained laughter. It didn't help that Sora's damp shorts made a lot of the sand stick instead of getting shaken out.

"You are EVIL!" Sora shouted, and Riku only laughed harder—that is, until Sora pounced at him and tried stuffing sand down _his _shorts.

"Ack!"

Riku tried rolling away, but Sora fought past his sandy limbs and managed to lift the hem of Riku's swimming trunks.

But before he could gather a fist full of sand, a lone blitzball rolled to a stop by their heads. Sora froze, just as a shadow fell over them, followed by another, then another.

Sora's blood froze inside of him as he slowly lifted his gaze, already knowing that he wouldn't be meeting the smiling faces of Tidus and Wakka or the girls. Behind him, he could hear Tidus and Wakka still shouting and playing in the ocean waves, and Kairi and Selphie hadn't been gone long enough for them to return with their snow cones.

No, someone else had decided to have a day at the beach.

"Heeey, it's Sora and his girlfriend."

Bickson planted his bare foot on his blitzball as he stooped forward to greet them, a vindictive smile pulling at his lips. Graav was beside him, of course, but Jumal was absent this time—probably because of the ankle injury Sora had given him.

No, it looked like Bickson had coaxed two more blitzball players to his cause to replace Jumal, two tough guys named Abus and Tatts, and they didn't seem to mind his aggressive disposition; they snickered at Bickson's stupid jeer, as did the four girls standing behind them: Kairi's usual groupies. He knew them well: Leblanc, Lucil, Dona, and Shuu—the other girls he had attempted asking out before he had tried Kairi...

Seven people to back Bickson's judgment and feed his distorted ego. Even if Tidus and Wakka wanted to get involved, Sora knew he and Riku were way outmatched.

Sora clambered back to his feet, immediately on the defense as he faced Bickson. Riku was right there beside him, and though Riku hadn't dealt with Bickson's hostility in person before, not like Sora had, he seemed to understand the gravity of the situation without any details. Sora wondered if Riku had ever encountered someone like Bickson in the city or if this breed of asshole was isolated to small island communities like his.

Judging from the guarded expression now on Riku's face, Sora guessed Riku _did _have experience with this kind of thing.

"What do you want?" Riku asked. His voice was clipped, to the point.

Once Bickson knew he had their full attention, he gave them a smug little smirk. He dug his foot beneath the blitzball and kicked it upward, catching it. He began to toss it from hand to hand as he studied Riku, almost as if sizing him up.

"You can't be who everyone's been talking about," he said with a loud laugh. "_I'm_ prettier than you."

Graav chuckled, and the others supported their mockery with voiced agreements. There were a lot of things Bickson was that Riku wasn't—taller, more built, filled to the brim with Grade A Asshole—but prettier wasn't one of them.

Riku knew better than to rise to the bait, though. He formed a tight-lipped smile, a cutting edge to the glare he sent the other guys. "If you have a problem with me here, take it to the authorities. Either way, I don't want to listen to it. You ought to secrete that ego around people who, you know, _care_."

"You have quite the mouth on you," Bickson commented with thinning eyes.

Riku folded his arms over his chest, unfazed. "Thanks for noticing."

The blitzball came to a pause in Bickson's hands. Then, after exchanging a glance with Graav, he continued on, focused on Sora now. "By the way, Jumal sends his regards. I'd relay what else he told me, but it's not appropriate in front of the ladies."

Kairi's groupies _aww_ed and giggled, and Sora shifted nervously from foot to foot, just wanting to leave now. He didn't like this. He didn't want to be here. If Bickson and his gang backed off quietly, Sora would be more than happy to go home...

"What's wrong?" Graav asked with a sneer, and Sora avoided eye contact. "Nothing to say for yourself? Or to Jumal? It's _your_ fault we're behind in practice."

Sora stiffened, getting angry now. "How is that my fault?" he demanded, glancing between Graav and Bickson. "You were the ones who cornered _me _in an alleyway! You're lucky _I _didn't go to the authorities! And if your team is that reliant on Jumal's stupid ankle, you don't have much of a _team_, do you?"

Sora saw Riku send him a surprised look, no doubt because he hadn't known about the alley incident. The girls also glanced amongst each other, and it was evident Sora had said something that didn't sit well with all of them.

"Well, you can thank your other pansy-ass friend for that," Bickson said, nodding his head in Tidus and Wakka's direction. "The team captain does pick his favorites. Though lately, his reputation has been called into question, considering the kind of company he keeps. Kind of makes one wonder, huh? What the _amazing_ Tidus Albright is hiding, why he's spending all that time at the queer house..."

"Tidus has nothing to do with this," Sora snapped, and with a quick glance made sure that Tidus and Wakka were still in the water. They still hadn't noticed the commotion on shore. Good—Sora didn't want them involved. He met Bickson's gaze and tightened his jaw, trying to sound as reasonable as he could. "And you're not funny, Bickson. We didn't do anything to you guys, so go away."

"Actually, you did," Graav cut in, and Bickson tossed him the blitzball, where he caught it in one hand with ease. "Just looking at you is an insult to my eyes."

"Then don't look!" Sora said, unable to stop the soft plea from entering his tone. "Leave us alone!"

Bickson only seemed to get more confident. "Can't do that. See, we like this beach..."

"And if word gets 'round that you fucking faggots are infesting it, they're gonna think we're homo, too," Graav finished for him, his fingers tightening against the sandy blitzball.

Sora took a step forward, his brows knitting with anger. "That's the _stupidest_..."

But Riku clamped a hand around his shoulder and tugged him back, his gaze level with Bickson's—probably because it was he who had picked a bone with Riku first. "Look, you don't own this beach," he said, talking over Sora's statement, "and it's not your job to patrol it and harass anyone you deem an _insult _to your _eyes_. And even if it _was _your beach, you would have no right to harass us for being a little different than you."

"It's not a matter of _difference_," Graav retorted before Bickson could. "It's a matter of what's _right_, and your kind ain't welcome here."

Riku lifted his chin, still not backing down. "Like I said, it's not your beach. If you have a problem with me, you can take it to the auth—"

But he never got to finish repeating himself.

Sora saw Graav move too late. One second, the blitzball was clutched firmly between his hands, and in the next—

The blue and white ball was slamming into Riku's face.

Sora's heart missed a beat when he heard the heavy impact. There was no crunch, just a loud _SMACK_, and Riku was suddenly staggering back with a hand clutched over his face.

If he had shouted or cried or cursed, Sora didn't hear it—what he heard was the rush of blood in his own ears as utter fury surged through him, then the shocked exclamations of the girls, the far off yelling of Tidus and Wakka, and above all—

Graav's shameless sneer. "Oops, hand slipped. You were saying?"

Sora was flying at him before he knew what he was doing.

His fist connected with Graav's jaw, and the blitzball player fell back, dazed and stumbling into Tatts and Abus. Sora had a split second to feel the sting of his own punch and realize exactly what he had done, right before Graav's shock blazed into rage, and hell broke loose.

The girls screamed as Bickson and his gang leapt at Sora, who threw his arms over himself as punches rained down on him. It happened too fast for him to stop—he hardly even registered the pain of their attacks—but all it took was for one of them to send a knee into his stomach before he buckled.

The wind rushed out of him as he collapsed to the sand, disoriented, but he saw the flash of silver hair as Riku leapt into the fray, shoving past Abus and Tatts's huge forms to yank Graav off of Sora.

Bickson came at Riku's side and slammed an elbow into his head, but Riku whirled towards him with a vengeance, grabbing a fistful of Bickson's shirt and jerking him to the ground. Sora saw Riku's fist smash into Bickson's face once, twice, three times—before Graav's sandal crashed into Riku's ribs, and Riku flew into the sand with a cry of pain.

Sora moved to help him, panic giving him the strength and courage to dive in to save him, but he wasn't the only one.

Tidus and Wakka charged straight into the fight, kicking up sand as they wrestled the other blitzball players off Riku, clearing room for Sora to break through and shield Riku from the last of Bickson and Graav's blows.

"What the hell do you guys think you're doing?!" Tidus screamed at them, pushing Bickson back, who was bleeding from the nose but otherwise looked too pissed to be hurt.

Bickson shoved him right back. "What the fuck does it look like?!" But Tatts grabbed Bickson's arm to hold him back before he could throw himself at Tidus next.

"Bickson—Graav—_all _of you—get the hell out of here before I get you kicked off the team for good!" Tidus yelled, and Sora felt a wash of relief as the blitzball players retreated a few steps, giving Sora more room to see how much damage had been done.

Covered head to toe in sand, Riku was clutching his ribs, his face twisted with pain, and though he had one eye squeezed shut, Sora couldn't tell if it had been hurt or not. His bottom lip was split, though, and he was trembling, pale.

"More like Coach will kick _you _off when he finds out you're parading around with these fags," Graav snapped back.

Sora sent him a scathing look, but what surprised him was how livid Tidus's expression grew. He took a step towards Graav, but Wakka clamped a hand over his shoulder and shook his head.

"It's not worth it, man."

Bickson wiped his nose, then spat down at Riku before meeting Sora's gaze, a deep hatred there in his eyes that Sora had never seen before. It sent a cold chill through his blood, and he knew without a doubt that this fight was just the beginning. And it terrified him.

"Come on," Bickson muttered, grabbing Graav's arm.

Graav yanked his arm free from his friend, growling at Sora. "Don't think this is over, you fucking fag."

Sora said nothing, but his arms curled protectively around Riku, who grimaced and sucked in a sharp breath. It wasn't until he heard the assholes leave that he risked a glance up, noticing that Kairi's groupies had stayed behind, each one of them with a stunned look on her face.

Kairi herself was nearby, hands clasped over her mouth in shock, with two dropped snow cones at her feet. Beside her, Selphie looked ready to burst into tears.

Wakka stared after the departing blitzball players as if to make sure they didn't make a comeback, and Tidus knelt beside Sora and Riku, his expression grim.

"You okay?" he asked Sora.

Nodding, Sora swallowed past the knot in his throat, only just now realizing how badly he himself was trembling and that his heart was pounding as if still caught in the fight. He felt sick. The pain stinging his body was nothing compared to the weight of dread sinking inside of him.

"I'm not worried about me," he whispered, focusing on Riku. "Riku—"

"I-I'm fine," he said in rush of air, but he didn't sound fine. He tried to roll onto his uninjured side, only to grunt in pain and collapse onto his back. He sucked in a ragged breath and tensed, his eyes squeezed shut. "M-Maybe not..."

Sora pried his fingers away from his side, but there was no blood. He brushed the sand away carefully, his touches making Riku wince again, but as far as Sora could tell, the damage wasn't external. Maybe Graav's kick had fractured something...

"We need to get him out of here," Tidus said, now looking as worried as Sora felt. "Let's see if he can walk."

Together with Wakka's help, the three of them managed to hoist Riku to his feet, and though he was unsteady, he seemed to be able to hold his own weight. Sora slipped an arm around his good side to support him anyway, and Riku accepted the help without question, leaning heavily against him with a hoarse thanks.

A small crowd of beachgoers had gathered around them, but Sora ignored them and their whispers, focused instead on getting Riku back to the house. Above them, the storm clouds had begun to form at last, and Sora hoped it didn't start raining until after they got back inside.

Kairi moved to help them, one of the clean towels wiping Riku's bleeding lip. "This is horrible... I should tell my dad. He would do something about this..."

"I don't know," Tidus sighed, gently pulling Riku's arm over his shoulder to support his other side. "But if anyone could convince him to help, it'd be you."

"I'll go wit' you, ya?" Wakka offered, and he turned towards their parasol to begin taking it down. "You guys go ahead."

Selphie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, get going before he gets worse!" Then she turned towards Kairi's friends and pumped a fist into the air, her face filling with determination. "Let's help pack, girls!"

Sora stopped paying attention to the others after that. He and Tidus helped Riku stagger across the sand, his strained gasps filling Sora with more and more worry, but Riku's breathing seemed to even out after they reached the street and headed in Calm Bounty's direction.

"Is it your ribs?" Sora asked quietly, not even trying to mask his concern.

"Don't know," Riku rasped, and Sora left it at that.

By the time they got to the front porch, the wind had picked up and just a hint of drizzle had begun to fall. Sora pushed the door open as Tidus helped Riku inside, and almost immediately Seiya was there, crying out in worry.

"What happened?!"

And within moments, Squall and Cloud and Cid were there and Tidus was rambling off everything he had seen and heard, but Sora's attention was solely on Riku.

"Fuckin' _hell_..."

Cid scooped Riku up before anyone else could and trudged up the stairs, barking out orders. "Leonhart, get some bandages and antiseptic! Seiya, make an icepack, will ya? And Strife, get the hell over here and turn on the shower!"

Cloud slipped up the stairs after them without question, and Sora was right behind him. He heard Tidus talking with his mom as they hurried into the kitchen to follow orders, but as Sora reached the top landing, he returned his attention to what was happening with Riku.

They rushed him to the nearest bathroom—the public one for guests—and Sora stood in the doorway, heart in his throat, as he watched Cloud set the shower to warm water, and Cid stripped Riku's board shorts off as he set him beneath the spray. Riku cried out as the water hit him, and Cloud turned towards Sora with a somber air.

"Doesn't look like he's broken anything, but..." He hesitated, his blue eyes earnest as he met Sora's. "Go get the stuff Cid needs."

Sora nodded and hurried back downstairs without hesitation, but it was chaos down there. Squall was rummaging through the medicine cabinet in the kitchen as Tidus flew past Sora to check for supplies upstairs, and Sora's mom was packing a sandwich bag with ice. As soon as she saw Sora, she shouted to him.

"Baby, check at home! Pain killers, bandages, everything!"

Sora didn't need to be told twice. He was out the front door in seconds and sprinting across the street, leaving the door hanging open behind him.

The drizzle hadn't gotten any worse, but now there was the unmistakable rumble of thunder in the distance, and the dark clouds had spread over the island, casting it in a gray gloom.

He burst into his house and headed straight for their first aid cabinet and began pulling out anything he thought they might need, then double checked to make sure he didn't miss anything. He was surprised that Riku's house didn't have anything yet—they had prepared for practically everything else—but then again, who would have expected an accident to happen so soon? Even though this was no accident...

Anger boiled up inside of him again as he stuffed the first aid supplies into one of his mom's shopping sacks. He didn't have time to dwell on the injustice of today's events. That could come later after Riku was confirmed to be okay.

Sora swooped up a clean shirt from the laundry basket near the stairs as he made his way back to the front door and pulled it over his head, not caring he was still covered in sand. He clutched the first aid bag and, slamming the door behind him, turned to dart back across the street.

He only made it one step.

A hand flew out of nowhere and grabbed a fistful of his hair. Before he could even catch a glimpse of his attacker, he was jerked right off his porch and over the wooden railing. With a startled cry, he tumbled into the grass below.

He hit the ground hard, his bag scattering its contents around him, and before he even had time to orient himself, a boot landed on his chest and pinned him down.

Sora felt his heart quiver with fear as the tip of a baseball bat pressed beneath his chin. He lifted his gaze, traveling along its length, to its owner's hand and the owner of that hand.

Ryan. And he looked furious.

Behind him, Gray and Neil stood guard with their arms crossed, smirking. At first Sora was confused and appalled—attacked twice in one day?! What kind of shitty luck did he have?!

But then he remembered that Jumal was really close friends with Ryan, and if Jumal had told him about how he had _really _hurt his ankle, no doubt Ryan had told _his _best friends...

And unlike eleven years ago when Sora could have beaten these jerks up, he wasn't facing off against guys his size anymore. The three of them were off to bootcamp in another month or so, but they didn't look like they needed the training—or a baseball bat to threaten him with—they were already all muscle.

Sora knew he looked petrified. He couldn't even stammer out what the hell they wanted from him because his throat had closed up to keep his panicking heart from escaping.

"Fucking queer," Ryan gritted out between clenched teeth.

No explanation. No chance for mercy.

He lifted the baseball bat high over his shoulder, thinned his eyes with disgust, and swung.

And for the first time in eleven years, Sora felt his life crumble around him, all over again.

-o-o-

* * *

Questions? Comments? Review?

This chapter is exactly why the previous chapter was so short. I didn't want to update something like this on a happy holiday!

Thank you again to all readers, especially those who constantly support this story for being more than a sappy get-together fic. Your emails and reviews always inspire me.


	19. Ch 16: A Lucky Tragedy

_Author's Notes:_

Hmm, not my best chapter, but I wrote it in part to help me get out of the 3-month slump I found myself in. Thank you, 180!

* * *

_**Chapter Nineteen: A Lucky Tragedy**_

-o-o-

But in that split second, Sora recognized that this was a different kind of life-altering tragedy. One that gave him a choice. This time his legs were more than long enough to chase the ferry of his escaping dreams, let alone do what he was about to do.

As the baseball bat came swooping down towards him, he curled his leg and did what any desperate guy would do.

He slammed his foot into Ryan's balls.

He felt the impact beneath his heel just before the bat hit him. The force behind the bat faltered as Ryan let loose a screech of pain and collapsed to the ground like he had fins for legs, but Sora wasn't completely spared from Ryan's attack.

The bat cracked against his shoulder as he fell back to avoid it. There was a distinct grind of bones beneath his skin—then utter agony, searing straight through his shoulder and down the length of his arm.

He didn't recognize the scream that shook the air around him, but he felt the burn of it in his throat and knew it was his. His shoulder continued to smolder with what felt like the intensity of a sun, tears springing to his eyes as he choked on his own breath. But as much as he hurt, he knew he was in for worse if he stayed where he was.

He heard Gray cursing and Neil checking to see if Ryan was okay, and Sora reacted on impulse. He summoned strength he didn't know he had, using his own fear as his guide, and rolled onto his good shoulder in the wet grass and pushed himself back to his feet.

Gray shouted something at him, but Sora wasn't listening. He set his sights on Riku's house and, in that next crucial second, he was driven by instinct.

Run.

Get to safety.

Find help.

He heard the pounding of footsteps in the grass beside him, but he was already flying across his lawn, a jolt of indescribable pain lancing through his arm with each step.

He felt the brush of fingers on his uninjured arm, but they slid right off his rain-slick skin as he darted past the three men.

More shouting. The heavy thunk of a baseball bat hitting the grass. The pitterpatter of the gentle rain hitting Calm Bounty's roof and gutters.

The slap of his feet against the wet cobblestone. His haggard gasps shaking out of him as he forced himself to breathe.

And the only thing he dared to look at was the front door of the house, still open, waiting, just like he had left it in his hurry to find medical supplies.

He reached the porch and stumbled on the steps, not sure if the pounding he heard was footsteps following him or his own heartbeats. But then he saw a shift of black, brown, and white in the doorway and lifted his watery eyes with hope. Squall must have heard the commotion and hurried to find him.

With just one look at Sora's condition and whatever was behind him, a grim scowl crossed Squall's face, and he snatched Sora's arm as the boy fought to keep his balance past the last stair.

Squall to the rescue again. It would have felt like déjà vu—if Squall had grabbed his good arm. Instead, he grabbed the other and yanked him inside.

Another cry left Sora as the pain radiated through his shoulder with twice the intensity as before, and Squall abruptly released him, gray eyes widened. He slammed the door closed and locked and bolted it before he turned his complete attention to Sora's arm.

"What happened?" he demanded, but Sora was shaking too much to offer an explanation.

He dropped to his knees, panting for air, his fingers gently touching his hurt shoulder to see what damage had been done. The skin wasn't broken, but the bone definitely felt wrong, and he couldn't move it...

"Th-Those guys..."

Squall turned his gaze towards the window beside the door and pulled back the curtain. The rain was still light, and through the gray drizzle beyond the glass, Sora could see Gray helping Ryan up as Neil retrieved the baseball bat. Scattered at their feet, getting soaked in the grass, were the supplies Sora had tried to get. Riku probably still needed them...

The three men glanced in Calm Bounty's direction, saw Squall standing at the window, and Ryan flipped him the bird before they stalked off through the rain. Squall's posture seemed to relax a fraction. He fixed the curtain and looked to Sora.

"Can you stand?"

"Not sure," Sora admitted, wincing as he tried to move his arm. "Ngh... I d-dropped all the stuff, too..."

Squall moved towards the door, unlocking it again before pulling it open. "Stay here and _don't _move," he said, and Sora watched dumbfounded as Squall stepped outside alone. The door closed behind him.

Sora watched and waited, listening with baited breath for a cry for help or anything, but it never came. All he heard was the rummaging in the kitchen and the sound of water from upstairs.

When the front door creaked open, Sora tensed, preparing for the worst. But when Squall appeared, he carried no injuries, only the translucence of a dampened shirt and the solemnity of a dampened spirit. The wet bag of supplies dangled from a hand. He offered it to Sora as he once again locked and bolted the door, and Sora clutched the bag to himself with his undamaged arm.

"They left," Squall said, but the announcement didn't make Sora feel any safer. He knelt beside Sora, his eyes thinning. "Their baseball bat..."

Sora understood the unspoken question. "My shoulder," he mumbled. He wanted to wipe his eyes, but he didn't want to draw attention to his tears despite how much pain he was in. "I can't move my arm."

Hesitating, Squall reached out to trace his fingers delicately over the ridge of Sora's clavicle and shoulder, his frown deepening. "We need to get your shirt off to see how bad it is, but you'd probably be in worse pain if something was broken..." He took Sora by his good arm and carefully helped him to his feet.

Though the movement sent another searing jolt through his shoulder, it was only when his limp arm rubbed against his shoulder. Squall was right—he didn't think something was broken.

Sora held onto him as much as he could. "I think it's just dislocated, but it _hurts_..."

"It does look dislocated," he agreed as he began to escort Sora to the kitchen.

Seiya was in the middle of wrapping her bags of ice with clean hand towels when she saw Sora, and her hand flew to her mouth with a gasp. "What happened?!" She was at his side in an instant, her chilly fingers gently prodding his arm as her eyes filled with a fear that Sora wasn't used to seeing from her. "Who did this?"

"Ryan, Gray, and Neil were waiting for me outside." Dumping the bag of supplies on the table, Sora sunk into a chair and let his mother wipe his eyes and nose with napkins, for once not putting up a fuss she was babying him. "Ryan had a bat..."

Saying it out loud put it into perspective for him.

If he hadn't attacked first like he had, he might not have gotten out of that alive... What kind of sane person would take a bat to someone like that? Not to mention how Gray and Neil had been egging him on! And all for what? Because Sora had smashed Jumal's ankle in self defense?

His mom actually growled and muttered a few choice words under her breath, right before she slipped her arms around him in a fierce hug, careful not to agitate his arm, and buried her face in his hair.

"I never thought something like this could happen, not here..."

Her frightened whisper clenched at Sora's heart. His eyes stinging, he dug his hand into her apron and held her close.

Beside them, Squall quietly rummaged through the supplies Sora had retrieved and began to sort out the salvageable things. Sora was grateful for his silent presence, and more than grateful to his mom for always being there for him, even when he hadn't wanted her to. She'd accepted him even when he hadn't known there were things about himself that needed to be accepted.

When she finally pulled away, pressing a kiss to the top of his head, she sniffed and wiped an eye before studying him again, a worried wrinkle to her brow. "I'm so sorry, baby... Here, let's take a look at it..."

With her help, Sora managed to get his shirt off without aggravating his arm too much, and the appalled expression that crossed his mother's face was more than reasonable. Sora had been right about his arm. As far as he could tell, the skin and none of his bones were broken, but the joint of his arm had popped right out of its socket. The irregularity of the joint was clearly visible beneath his skin, which was still scarlet where the bat had slammed into him. Sora was far less concerned about the nasty bruise he was going to get than he was about how much it was going to hurt to fix his arm.

"Definitely dislocated," Squall sighed. "The good news is that it's not hard to treat. The bad news is that we don't know if there are broken fragments in there, so it's too risky to fix it ourselves... You're going to have to see a doctor."

"The nearest doctor is a ferry away," Seiya said, worried. "And it's raining."

Squall nodded. His gray eyes narrowed as he studied Sora's arm a moment more before turning towards the hallway. "I don't think he should see a doctor here anyway. We can make a sling to make him more comfortable..."

He disappeared into the hallway, carrying a handful of supplies, and Sora heard him stop someone on the stairs, then the sound of feet sprinting back upstairs. Probably Tidus.

Sora stared after him, dreading the meaning of what Squall had just said. Not see a doctor here? Then what was he supposed to do?

"We need to get you cleaned up," his mom sighed, picking at his sticky, sandy hair, and when Sora glanced at her, she had tears pooling on her lashes. Seeing her like this hurt a hell of a lot more than the pain he was already going through.

He swallowed past the sudden knot in his throat and reached out to grab her hand. "Mom... "

She let him, but not without a sniffle and a deep look of guilty realization. "This is my fault. If I hadn't pushed the two of you together..."

"People are jerks," Sora cut in, shaking his head. "It's _not _your fault. Maybe you had a lot to do with me 'n Riku getting closer, but _I_ was the one who accepted it. It's not Riku's fault, either. It's the jerks who can't handle us for being a little different, Mom."

"But for them to gang up on you at the beach and then follow you _home_..." Her fingers tightened around his, and her other hand covered her face. "I don't understand how some people can be so cruel."

He couldn't remember the last time she had ever said anything like that. Despite her isolation here, she had always been sort of optimistic about people. But then, there was a big difference between how people treated her versus what was happening to Sora.

For a moment, Sora debated on whether or not to tell her the truth about what had really happened, but after the day he'd had, he didn't see a point in hiding the details. "The thing at the beach was different," he said. "Sort of."

And when she glanced up, blue eyes wide and full of worry for him, Sora rubbed the back of her hand and explained that Bickson and his gang had been looking for an excuse to jump him, and that he had hurt Jumal's ankle when they had cornered him in an alley a few days ago. Gray, Ryan, and Neil were just bullies and had always been bullies since he and Riku had been little, but they started up their macho antics again because of Riku's return. Ryan had come at Sora with a baseball bat probably because Ryan and Jumal were really close friends, and Jumal's hurt ankle was hampering not only his blitzball playing, but the whole team's.

She listened to him in silence, her expression gradually darkening with anger. "Men are such babies," she murmured when he finished.

It felt weird to be so calm about this, but he wasn't so sure he'd had the time for it to all sink in. "Kairi went to talk to her father," Sora added, "so hopefully he'll get them to cool things down."

Squall chose at that moment to return to the kitchen, a folded sheet and some clothes tucked under an arm. Sora and his mother watched him expectantly, and Squall didn't need prompting. "We'll make Sora a sling after his shower," he said. "I talked to Tidus, and he agreed to help you out..."

Sora's stomach flip-flopped. Wait—Tidus—helping him out in the shower? Is that what Squall meant? But then again, Sora _would _need it...

Squall handed him the pile of folded clothes but set the sheet on the table, probably to make Sora's sling later. "Don't take too long or put too much stress on that arm," he warned, then gestured to the doorway.

Tidus stood there waiting for Sora.

His expression was guarded. Sora wondered if that was because Tidus was being shy or if he was just trying not to show how worried or angry he was about what had happened. Sora understood that he and Riku hadn't been the only ones affected by this. No doubt Tidus and Wakka had made a lot of enemies today...

Sora released his mother's hand and joined Tidus by the door. "I won't be long," he reassured Squall, clothes gathered under his good arm. Well, he would try not to take long... He hadn't been naked in front of Tidus since the locker rooms at school a few months ago—and that was way before he'd known Tidus had a crush on him. On the other hand, they both had more important things to worry about today.

He left Squall with his mother and paused in the hall to give Tidus what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Tidus returned it, though it had only half of the life in it that Tidus's smiles usually did. Sora retreated towards the stairs, climbing them in silence with Tidus close behind him.

The sound of running water had stopped.

He broke the silence when they reached the landing. "How's Riku?" he asked.

"Huh?" Tidus seemed distracted. "Oh. Not sure... Cloud was still checking him out when I left."

But Sora wasn't surprised Tidus was a little out of it. It had been a hectic past hour. He just smiled at his friend again, finding irony in the smile that Tidus was once again quick to return. Shouldn't Sora have been the one seeking reassurance? Maybe that was part of what friendship was, though—remaining strong for him, even when it seemed like the whole world was against him.

"You alright?" he asked Tidus.

That did the trick. Tidus's smile pulled into a sheepish grin. "I should be asking _you _that. You're the one with the gimp arm. Here..." He took the clothes from Sora and led him to the bathroom used for guests. "You know... Out of everything that's happened today, you know what's surprised me the most?"

"No—what?" Sora asked.

As he placed the bundle of clothes on the counter, Tidus hesitated before turning back towards Sora, his expression earnest.

"How strong you are," he admitted. Then, looking embarrassed, he went to the shower stall and began to run the water to warm it up. "I mean... it wasn't just Riku who got a beating out there," he said, his explanation tumbling out of him without Sora's encouragement. "I saw what they did to you on the beach—and now those assholes attack you at your own house? But here you are... asking _me _if I'm alright. Everyone should be asking _you_ that."

And as Tidus glanced at him over his shoulder, his fingers checking the water's temperature, Sora felt something inside of him loosen, like a shoelace knot that had finally begun to give way. Only, this knot was made of emotions, and Sora hadn't realized he had been picking at it this entire time. Something about what Tidus had said had meant a lot to him, but he couldn't quite put a name to it...

"Thanks," he mustered, but he meant it.

Relief warmed the troubled edges of Tidus's smile.

"Any time."

-o-o-

There were about a dozen different clichés about two boys in a shower that Sora kept imagining during his moment of dependency with Tidus. None of them happened. By the time they were finished doing Sora's hair, Sora couldn't have been more grateful that Tidus was his friend.

-o-o-

Once out of the shower, Sora found himself once again borrowing the oversized pair of Riku's boxers that Squall had fished out of a pile of clean laundry, along with a muscle shirt that sorta fit him. Squall had sought him out and led him and Tidus to the room he shared with Cloud, which hadn't changed since that morning.

And as Tidus towel-dried Sora's hair for him, Sora sat in Squall's office chair and watched as Squall set up his laptop in front of them, a serious frown wrinkling his scar as he began to fold a pastel blue sheet into a large triangle. On the laptop's screen were DIY instructions, pulled off the internet, on how to make a sling out of a sheet.

Sora couldn't help finding all of this kind of amusing.

That is, until Squall was ready to put Sora's arm into the homemade sling. The pain wasn't as unbearable as before, but moving his arm reignited it enough for him to wish he had done more than kick Ryan in the balls for attacking him. As Squall helped Sora slip his arm into the sling they tied from his neck, Sora tried and failed to stifle a groan.

Even after his arm settled into the sturdy sheet-sling, the pain continued to radiate from his shoulder. That was where Tidus put one of the ice packs Sora's mom had made, and Sora murmured his gratitude.

It was then that Squall offered him two tiny pills and a perspiring glass of water. "Here. Cid said he uses these for his joint pains."

Sora took them without question and washed them down with the entire glass of water, and even though he knew it was just his imagination, his shoulder was already beginning to feel better. "Thanks," he sighed, and Squall merely mussed his damp hair now that Tidus was done trying to dry it.

"How's it feel?" Tidus asked.

"Still hurts," Sora admitted, "but at least now it's not just hanging there..." He gently pressed the ice pack harder against the awkward joint and grimaced, deciding then not to press it any harder than he needed to. He wasn't a baby—he could take his cuts and bruises without batting an eye—but this was a different level of pain than he'd ever felt before.

"And you?" Squall added after quietly observing him.

Sora had the feeling he wasn't talking about the arm but rather what had happened. After how distant Squall had been acting that morning, he was glad to have the older man's concern, as well-disguised as it was. Squall didn't seem like the type who was often bothered by other people's problems, if ever.

And Sora, who had spent most of his life being the overlooked boy next door, wasn't used to having this much attention—unwanted situation or not. He set the ice pack down and, using the edge of Squall's small desk, hefted himself to his feet. "Hanging there is all I _can _do right now..." He glanced at him. "How's Riku?"

"Bruised," Squall said, not making a move to stop him from leaving. "And pissed off."

Somehow, Sora didn't doubt it.

"It's getting late," Tidus noted with a glance at the laptop's time. Beyond the bedroom window, the sky was black even though the sun had about two hours before setting. Rain was falling in torrents, slapping against the window panes from fierce gusts of wind, but Sora couldn't hear any thunder.

"My mom's not going to let you out in that rain," Sora said with a small smile. "I'm sure it'd be okay if you stayed a bit longer, or overnight..."

Tidus nodded, but his expression told Sora he wasn't going to take up that offer. "I could, but I want to find out if Kairi had any luck. Besides, by now my mom would have heard about what happened..."

"And she'd be worried," Sora finished for him, understanding. Like Sora, Tidus lived alone with his mom—but only because his dad was on the mainland playing professional Blitzball. Sora had never met his father, but he'd met Tidus's mom more than a few times and she'd always been really sweet to him. "Think you'll be alright alone?"

Tidus raked a hand through his messy blonde hair and gave Sora a knowing smile. "Yeah, don't worry. Go easy on the arm," he said as he too got to his feet, Sora's towel in hand. "I'm gonna say bye to your mom. Smells like she's cooking up a storm down there..."

Now that he mentioned it, Sora did smell something really savory. She always went on a cooking spree when she was worried. He could only imagine what she was doing in the kitchen—a feast fit for a king, probably.

Sora said his goodbyes and, with a grateful smile, walked Tidus to the stairs and watched him descend. There was a shift of air behind him, and Sora glanced over his good shoulder to give Squall a questioning look. He hadn't expected Squall to follow them.

"He's a good kid," the older man commented quietly. The statement seemed unusual for someone like Squall, so Sora nodded, not wanting to let him get all stoic on him so soon. Squall focused on Sora then, expression still giving nothing away. "You should go see him."

Sora knew immediately that Squall wasn't talking about Tidus. He was a little nervous about seeing Riku—how badly had he gotten hurt?—but he knew Riku would have already come to see him if he'd been able.

The way Riku had leapt into the fight like that, just to protect him...

But he also thought about how he hadn't even hesitated when the blitzball had slammed into Riku's face. Sora's fist had done all the thinking for him. He wondered how much damage he and Riku had done to those assholes...

Sora found himself standing in front of Riku's door a few seconds later, feeling Squall's attention on him, and he turned the knob without knocking.

Riku's room was even darker than the rest of the house, the lights off and the curtains drawn, and through the crack between the curtains Sora could see the charcoal colored sky and rain. On this side of the house, the wind was pushing the water away from the window, leaving Riku's room silent except for the heavy pattering of rain against the roof. Through the sliver of faint light coming from outside, Sora could see a Riku-sized lump on the bed beneath the blankets and Cloud cleaning up what looked like some of the supplies Sora had brought. The room smelled like Riku's shampoo, though.

Cloud glanced in his direction when he creaked the door open, and Sora shut the door behind him as quietly as he could.

"How is he?" he tried to whisper.

"Bruised," Cloud replied in his normal voice. "And still awake, just sedated." He paused to turn on the lamp beside Riku's bed, illuminating that corner of the room, before he stuffed the used supplies into a bag and approached Sora. His brows furrowed as he took in the sight of Sora's sling. "Leonhart told us what happened..."

Sora heard the concern in his tone, but also the anger. He wondered if Cloud had ever encountered situations like this himself, then remembered Cloud had had a girlfriend until very recently... He wasn't openly gay.

"It's just dislocated," Sora said, not wanting to make a big deal out of it. The fact that he had gotten hurt was less disturbing to him than the fact he had gotten attacked in the first place—_that _was a big deal to him.

Cloud's expression grew grave. "Sora, don't take this lying down. A dislocated shoulder could have easily been a cracked skull or _worse_. I'm not saying you were lucky, but..." He trailed off, shaking his head and looking livid for a moment before it faded back into concern. "Just take it easy for now, and... be careful."

Sora clenched his jaw and nodded, understanding where Cloud's severity was coming from. This definitely wouldn't be his last tangle with the blitzball players or Gray's gang, especially if he and Riku wanted to take it public. Well, it already was getting public... but getting justice for what had been done to them was a whole other matter.

Cloud left the room, closing the door behind him as Sora had done, leaving that subtle warning lingering in front of him. Be careful? Sora wasn't sure what exactly he was supposed to be careful about... If those guys had had the gall to attack him on his own lawn, he wasn't sure _what _was safe anymore.

When Sora turned towards Riku's bed, Riku had pulled down his covers and was watching him. His hair was a nest of silver, the messiest Sora had ever seen it, but something about it made Sora's heart warm. If Riku hadn't had the energy to tidy his hair after his quick shower, or at least the energy to ask Cloud or Squall to do it for him, he must have been pretty out of it.

Sora crossed the floor towards the bed, the smile that he had been about to give Riku dying on his lips before he could form it. There was already a heavy bruise around Riku's eye where one of the knobs of the blitzball had hit him. His lip was split, too, and there was a cut on his forehead covered by two bandaids. Without waiting for permission, Sora tugged Riku's blanket down to see the damage, spotting more bandaids along his bare chest, and there—settled over his ribs was a large bandage, and Riku's hand pressed against it with a wrapped ice pack.

"Nothing's broken," Riku muttered, his eyes shying away before focusing on Sora's sling. "Bastards 're gonna pay..."

That was somewhat endearing except for the slur in Riku's words. Cloud hadn't been kidding when he'd said that Riku was sedated. Seemed like Riku had gotten away with just a bruised rib or two... He had been kicked pretty hard, though.

Sora was beginning to think _had _been pretty lucky. Could a tragedy be lucky? His mind was starting to spin; he wasn't sure how to feel anymore.

"Kairi will take care of it," Sora reassured, though he wasn't too sure about that. Riku's bed was beginning to look like a good place to take a nap... Wait—had Cid's medicine kicked in? Maybe that was why he couldn't think straight right now. Running on auto-pilot, Sora climbed onto the bed beside Riku, shifting carefully onto his side so that his bad arm was on top.

A moment later, he felt Riku press the ice pack gently against his shoulder. Sora lifted his gaze to Riku's, whose expression looked as serious as one of Squall's, only drifty. Once again, Sora recognized the concern hidden there. He settled close to Riku, but not too close, wary of aggravating Riku's ribs, and after a while Riku left the ice pack on Sora's shoulder so he could slip his arm over Sora's waist and hold him.

"Scared?" he murmured against Sora's hair.

Sora took a moment to imagine the kind of conversation Ryan must have had with Gray and Neil in order to convince them to wait outside Sora's house. He thought about the bat and their words and their anger. Then he couldn't help wondering what they'd do now that war had broken out and their anger would only have more reason to simmer into a boil. That was when he remembered Cloud's "be careful," and he realized... No, he would no longer feel safe alone, not even at home.

"Yeah," he whispered back.

Riku's warm breath filtered through his hair, helping him relax, but he said nothing. He almost thought Riku had fallen asleep when he heard it: the faintest of replies, an afterthought as if Riku hadn't meant to utter it aloud.

"Me, too..."

-o-o-

When Sora woke, it was with a grogginess that felt like he had been asleep for days. Prying his eyes open was a chore, and when his vision cleared, he found himself staring at a knot in Riku's hair. The lamp was still on. Beyond the window, he could hear the steady beating of the rain against the roof still, but the crack in the curtains was pitch black now from what Sora could see.

Riku's hand was a deep warmth where it rested between his shoulder blades. His eyes were open, watching him with a calmness that made Sora suspect Riku had been staring at him for a very long time.

"Hey," Riku greeted softly.

Sora murmured a _Hey_ back, his throat feeling like it was layered with cobwebs.

"Your mom left us some food downstairs," Riku said, undeterred by Sora's bleariness. "And Kairi called."

Sora began to sober immediately. "She did?" From his tone, the news already didn't sound good, and Sora felt his stomach tighten with dread. Maybe he should have stayed asleep...

"Her father says he can't do anything, which is bullshit," Riku said, eyes thinning. "Even Kairi called him on his bullshit and said it was prejudice. She's pretty worried—about Tidus and Wakka, too. She doesn't want Bickson and the other assholes to get away with it. Your mom told her about what happened to you, too, and she thinks things are getting too violent too fast. She's right... It's ridiculous. We're not going to be able to contain it."

"So then what do we do?" Sora asked as he tried to keep up with everything Riku was saying.

"Kairi had a few good suggestions, and both Seiya and Squall agree..." Riku hesitated for a second, sighing. "We need to leave town for a few days to let things calm down."

Sora tensed, wondering if he had heard that right. "Wait—what? Leave town?"

"Just for a few days," Riku assured. He sounded like he didn't really want to leave. "Kairi said she was going to try to talk to her father again." Then, regrettably: "It's not going to work, but... she's right that we should disappear and let things calm down without us."

It was a while before Sora could even think to say anything. He wasn't supposed to be leaving so soon—not for another month! And even if this was just for a few days, it was so sudden. "Where are we going to go?" he asked, floundering to straighten his mind out. He should have been able to guess the answer.

"Atropos, of course," Riku said. "I'll make the arrangements in the morning. I don't want a lot of people to know I'll be in the city..."

The city already? Sora's eyes widened. "How soon?"

"Probably tomorrow afternoon. I'm supposed to be on bed rest, but..." Riku's eyes focused on the knot of Sora's sling, his expression somber again. "You need to see a doctor. Your arm can't stay like that for too long, and Squall was adamant that we can't pop it back into place ourselves since there might be bone fragments or whatever."

That didn't make Sora feel any better. Not only was he going to the city before he was ready, he was going to see a doctor? He hadn't needed to see a doctor at all since he was like ten!

Riku continued on, oblivious to or ignoring Sora's silent panic. "Before we do, we need to take pictures of the damage they did to us, as evidence... I get the feeling Sephiroth is going to want to get involved."

Sora could only imagine _how_, but the question caught in his throat. He was afraid to ask what Sephiroth's power and money could do to his once peaceful island community. Or maybe Sephiroth just wanted to protect one of his precious models...

Either way, Sora knew that there was no going back to his quiet life as a boy-next-door. Maybe this sudden trip to Atropos was what he needed to open his eyes.

Riku must have seen the anxiety in him because he cracked a smile at Sora. "Relax. We'll figure things out." He slipped a hand through Sora's hair. "We'll pull through this together, alright?"

Sora gave a small nod, then winced as a muscle along his shoulder stung in protest. Riku noticed and gently stroked the space between his shoulder blades to help him relax. It worked.

They lay there together, unaware of the passing time as they discussed the trip to Atropos and what they could get accomplished while there. Riku was good a pointing out the benefits of going early—scoping out apartments together, letting Sora tour the city to see if he liked it, helping Sora get used to the bus system they'd have to rely on once they got there, getting Sora a cell phone, maybe picking up some job applications. (Admittedly that last one was Sora's idea; he didn't want Riku to pay for everything!)

Around the time they were discussing how big of a kitchen they might need in their future apartment, Sora stomach grumbled loudly at the idea of food, and he remembered Riku had mentioned his mom had left them dinner.

Riku laughed and kissed him. "Go get some food, you goof."

For once, Sora would rather let his stomach suffer; he was super comfortable and was having fun imagining the new life he and Riku were discussing. But he realized Riku hadn't eaten either. Even though Riku hadn't said to get him food, too, Sora decided he ought to do it anyway, especially if Riku was confined to his bed.

Flashing Riku a small grin, he leaned in and returned the kiss before he carefully got to his feet. He only aggravated his arm a little and felt proud of himself for getting used to dealing with his sling.

The hallway was dark as he entered it, but a light was on in the kitchen downstairs, allowing him a faint light to see by. He still wasn't used to navigating Riku's large house in the dark, not like his own.

As he descended the stairs, he heard a rattling snore and spotted Cid lounging on one of the sofas, a thick engineering magazine open in his lap. Someone had turned the light off and left him there probably. He wondered if Cid was supposed to be the night watch... Usually Cid would return to his hotel room a few islands over, but maybe he had stayed to make sure everyone was alright. Or maybe the rain was just too much for him to travel through tonight... Well, whatever Cid's excuse was, he was a lousy night watch, and Sora smiled to himself as he crept into the kitchen.

It was empty. But with a glance at the dining room, he saw his mom was asleep at the table. Either she had been waiting up for him or she had been too worried to go home...

Sora stood beside her and brushed her hair out of her eyes. He'd never noticed before, but she had wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, and there in the back of her ponytail was a single gray hair. He hadn't ever known her to have any before—or at least didn't let them exist long enough for him to notice them.

Something nostalgic stirred inside of him as he studied her face. He knew she was proud of him, but he wondered if she was happy here. When he moved, what would be left for her here?

He hoped she didn't stay here, not after everything that was happening because of his relationship with Riku. The last thing he wanted was for his mom to suffer because of stupid prejudiced jerks.

Sighing, he pulled his hand away from her face. That was when he noticed the pile of beach stuff they had abandoned on the beach after the attack. Everything was there, from the blanket to the parasol to the lunch cooler, and even Axel's camera. Selphie must have been successful in convincing the other girls to help her. Sora felt himself smile at the gesture of kindness. It was a good reminder that not everyone on the island would support the hate crimes even if they had started off supporting the intolerance.

He picked up Axel's camera and rubbed it against the bottom of his shirt to brush the sand off of it, hoping none had gotten inside or scratched the lenses or anything. Sora wasn't an expert on electronics, but he had a suspicion that sand and technology didn't mix well at all.

He switched it on and breathed out with relief when he heard the camera's happy chime. Nearby, his mother stirred at the sound, but she didn't wake up. Curious, Sora used his thumb to scroll through the pictures that had been taken recently, wishing he could use his other hand to help hold it steady.

There were the pictures he had taken of Riku's dazed expression as he had stared out into the sea, even an accidental shot of Riku's fingers clamped over the camera when he had tried to take it from Sora.

But before all of those, he was surprised to see some images _he _hadn't taken—of himself and Riku standing together in the surf, framed by the blue sky and the faint outline of storm clouds on the horizon, as they shared a kiss.

He remembered then that Kairi and Selphie had been messing with the camera. Is that what they had been doing? Oh, man...

He couldn't help grinning when he saw the pictures before those, though, of the informal blitzball game they had played. There were a lot of himself and Riku, especially Riku munching it in the water a few times and Tidus and Wakka howling with laughter, but there were also a ton of Tidus pictures _and _Wakka, and even three or four of Kairi and Selphie getting snapshots of each other.

Sora didn't realize he was laughing until he heard his mom murmur something in her sleep about Sora playing his games too loud. Quieting down, Sora finished looking through the new photos and shut the camera off. Somehow, his heart felt much lighter now.

He couldn't shake the image from his mind, the one of himself and Riku at the shoreline. Maybe he wasn't used to seeing himself in photos, let alone with another person, but something about it struck him in a way that none of the others had. He had looked happy. So had Riku.

But that was why Sora had wanted to drag Riku to the beach in the first place—to create new memories together. Now this particular memory would forever be tainted by Bickson and Ryan and the pain.

Sora set the camera down, letting his hand linger on its cool surface, and he closed his eyes.

He could still see the baseball bat raised to strike him. He could still hear their furious yells as he had raced past them. He could still feel one of their hands as it had tried to grab onto his slippery skin. And when he thought about it, he could still feel the force of fists and feet and knees slamming into him.

Releasing a steady breath, Sora reached up to touch his dislocated shoulder.

_...could have easily been a cracked skull or __**worse**__._

Cloud's words came back to him along with a chill. Sora shivered it away and hoped Atropos would be better. Then he turned and went to warm up his and Riku's dinners, determined to make Riku eat something no matter what.

On his way to the stairs several minutes later, carefully balancing a tray with his one good arm, he paused in the living room, getting an idea. He set the food down and pulled off a throw draped over the back of one of the couches. He returned to the dining room and, after some effort, managed to drape it over his mom's shoulders.

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head like she often used to do to him. "G'night, Mom..."

She let out a soft snore, and he smiled.

He retrieved the tray of food from the coffee table where he'd left it and retreated upstairs, letting the dim lamp light from Riku's room guide him.

-o-o-

That night after they ate their dinner and talked more about what Atropos would be like, Sora slept well only for three reasons:

Riku let him leave the lamp on, dim as it was, to help chase away the shadows of his long day.

Riku's breathing carried a hypnotizing rhythm, as did his heartbeat as Sora nestled close enough to hear it.

And because, curled up next to Riku with the warm weight of his arm around him, he felt like things might turn out okay.

-o-o-

* * *

These next two chapters might be veeery long compared to the shorter length of the more recent chapters... or I might split it up, I'm really not sure anymore. These shorter chapters are confusing me!

Thanks for all of the continuing support.


	20. Ch 20: Into Kingdoms Unknown

_Author's Notes:_

I'M BACK! Been trying to get out of my year-long writing slump. Please excuse any inaccuracies with the medical stuff. None of my knowledge comes from first-hand experience.

Also, with the uncertainty of my current writing style and life events, I've now lost track of how many chapters are left in the story. I'm estimating five... But I'm probably wrong. Enjoy anyway!

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty: Into Kingdoms Unknown**_

-o-o-

The sun hovered on the horizon like a slice of grapefruit, bleeding the morning sky shades of coral orange to pink to blue. The sparkling line of the sunrise stretched across the sea, glimmering with the gentle waves of dolphins playing in the distance.

Gulls circled the lone shrimp boat casting its nets into the calm, and their hungry cries chased the ferry as it cut through the green bay of Port Dollet.

The ferry was littered with early risers, only a few vehicles carried over on this trip; none of them were from Destiny Islands itself but from its larger neighbors, Balamb and Besaid. Riku and Sora had been up for three hours already, and this had been their fourth ferry this morning.

Even though he couldn't see much of the shore yet, Sora could already tell Destiny Islands was much prettier. The salty tang of the air was different here, too. Sora hadn't been this far from home since a blitzball tournament three years ago—one he had gone to watch with Tidus, back before Tidus had tried out for the team.

Riku was resting alone on one of the benches far away from the edge of the ferry. Gull droppings littered almost every surface, so he was huddled in the cleanest corner of the bench. Wearing an expensive pair of sunglasses even at daybreak, he looked like some kind of creature of the night. Sora couldn't blame him, though. Riku was running on painkillers, bananas, and four hours of sleep.

Sora smiled over at him, and Riku lifted his face as he noticed Sora watching him. Tired but definitely there, a smile was returned.

The bruise beneath Riku's eye had darkened significantly since last night, visible even with a tad of concealer, hence the sunglasses. Riku had even pulled his long bangs over the cut on his forehead to minimize attention to himself, but there wasn't much he could do about his split lip or the wounded way he held a hand to his ribs whenever he moved.

Likewise, Sora had long ago given up trying to hide his sling. Even though Squall had made him a new one, this one from a white sheet, it still stood out against his red hoodie and jeans. A couple of girls on the previous ferry had asked him how he had gotten hurt, and Sora had been too embarrassed by the attention to come up with a decent lie, stammering that he had been _hit_ by a baseball bat—which just made him sound like a klutz, not a victim.

A victim... Ugh, he hated thinking about it that way.

Before putting on the new sling, he and Riku had taken pictures of their injuries. "Just in case," Riku had said. Sora had gotten a better look at his shoulder and arm, which had gone numb in some spots. His skin was discolored around the shoulder, and a bruise had begun to form where the bat had slammed into him. It only hurt when he moved it, but Cid had given him some more of his pain meds just in case.

Nearby, Cid was getting an earful as Sora's mom chatted away—what she did whenever she got nervous. Whether or not he was actually listening to her, he still grunted an agreement every so often.

Sora was surprised she was awake enough to have motor-mouth, considering she had slept at the kitchen table all night. She had decided to tag along to Atropos, at least until she found out what the doctor had to say about their injuries. Cid was only accompanying them until they got to Dollet so he could pick up some supplies Calm Bounty needed.

Squall and Cloud had been left in charge of the house, but Sora kept worrying something might happen to them while so many people were gone... If Sora had been attacked on his own front porch, what was stopping the assholes from targeting Riku's friends next?

A sudden _clang-clang-clang_ signaled the approach of the ferry to the dock, and the clamor was enough to startle Sora out of his thoughts. Even the sleepy patrons in their cars began to stir back to life.

Eager to get back on dry land, Sora left the railing and returned to Riku's side. Maybe it was his imagination, but now that the sky was growing lighter, Sora thought he could see a hint of red along Riku's cheeks and neck.

Sora pressed a finger to a warm cheek. "Looks like you got a little sunburned after all."

Swatting Sora's finger away, Riku mustered a crooked smile. "Yeah, and I'll get you back for it, too. I'm a mess..."

"Nah, you're still the prettiest little princess on this boat," Sora said with a small grin, then danced back as Riku reached to grab him. He probably would have succeeded if not for the sedatives.

Riku's eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses as he muttered, "I'll get you back for _that_, too."

Just glad to be off the island, Sora laughed and leaned in, grabbing a fistful of Riku's shirt as he kissed him. It was gentle, Sora careful not to agitate the split lip that brushed against his own.

Riku relaxed beneath his lips, seeming grateful for the touch of affection. He probably needed it—the reassurance, the knowledge that Sora wasn't going to back down, the warmth of another person to help chase away the pain.

Sora was aware of people all around them, maybe or maybe not watching, but he didn't care. He wasn't home. Even if someone might recognize him, he wasn't going to hide how he felt for his boyfriend, and he especially wasn't going to be ashamed anymore.

Shame meant Bickson and Ryan's gangs had won. Shame meant that their fists and baseball bats and words were stronger than his feelings for Riku. They weren't.

So what if he and Riku were running from the conflict for now? Sora wouldn't let the memories of their attacks haunt him into fearing them. Those bastards would get what they deserved. He was sure of it.

Sora slowly pulled out of the kiss, hesitating long enough to peck Riku's lips again, and then separated from them completely. Riku's warm breath washed against his jaw, smelling like toothpaste and banana—their hasty breakfast.

Sora's fingers traced Riku's feverish cheek as he smiled down at him. "Gonna get me back for that, too?"

And when Riku quirked a smirk of his own, Sora felt a telltale tumble of his heart.

"Definitely."

He knew right then that this getaway was what he needed.

Not only to find his footing again, but to test the foundation of their touch and go relationship.

-o-o-

With Seiya insisting on carrying their small bags "So your ribs won't fall out, Riku, and _your_ arm won't pop off, Sora-sweetie," the three of them said goodbye to Cid and boarded the elevated railway departing for Atropos.

It was Sora's first train and his first adventure into a big city. The biggest he'd ever been in was Port Dollet, which probably only took up a hundredth of Atropos's population—though that could have just been an excited exaggeration.

Sora found a seat in a less crowded part of the train and stared out the window at the station's passersby, spotting college students, vacationers, and businessmen alike. He wondered if it was like this all the time, and if it was, how many oddballs passed through the station.

He and Riku still stood out—Sora with his homemade sling and Riku with his shades and perfect hair and stylish clothes, now looking less like a creature of the night and more like a movie star as he lounged in the seat against Sora's good shoulder.

Sora's mother, after stashing their bags in the compartments overhead, was giving them some space and had chosen to strap-hang instead of sit. She, too, turned a few heads—for once not because she was embarrassing Sora. Compared to the smartly dressed business women sitting stiffly with their briefcases and laptop bags, and the college girls in their short-shorts and halter tops giggling on their cell phones, she looked like she had come from another world.

Sporting a pretty pale yellow sundress with tiny blue flowers and wearing her long hair only half braided, Seiya was like a princess who'd run away from home, a tranquil smile on her face as she studied all of the advertisements and notifications posted along the ceiling. Sora just hoped she didn't get herself into trouble by sticking out too much in a crowd.

The train moved much faster than Sora had first anticipated, speeding through Port Dollet in what felt like seconds once it left the station. The port itself wasn't too impressive, bigger than Besaid or Balamb by far but mostly full of tourist destinations and too much housing—but as the railway passed into the city beyond, Luca, the differences were night and day.

Billboards streamed past the windows, some stationary and others scrolling with advertisements or warnings. Buildings only seemed to grow larger and larger the deeper they went into Luca, towering high and gleaming in the morning sky, earning their rightful name as skyscrapers.

Down below the railway were hundreds and hundreds of cars clogging the streets in their rush to get to work on time. Even more surprising to Sora was the foot traffic as the train passed over the heart of the city, people outnumbering vehicles as they poured onto the pavement in organized floods, following the changing lights and crosswalks in a perfectly synchronized dance.

The elevated train even took Sora past the pride and joy of Luca: the blitzball stadium—the place Tidus hoped to play in one day soon. And if Tidus followed through with the deal he had with Sephiroth, Sora had no doubt he'd make it there.

Just past the stadium, the train made a stop at a new station, letting off a handful of people only to make way for a swarm of newcomers, and Seiya had to take a seat next to Sora so she wouldn't get so crowded. More students crowded the seats and handrails, and Sora assumed they were on their way to summer class.

A few of them pulled out laptops, portable games, music players or cell phones, making him marvel at how backwards his small island community really was. Was that guy with the pierced nose actually watching a movie on that tiny screen?

"Having fun?" Riku murmured near his shoulder. He hadn't lifted his head from its resting place against Sora's arm, but those green eyes were gazing up at him over the edge of his sunglasses, amused but drowsy.

Sora must have been pretty obvious about his staring if he had warranted a tease from his half-asleep boyfriend. Answering with a grin, Sora asked, "How long 'til we get to Atropos?"

" 'bout another hour," Riku said as he half-heartedly glanced at his watch. "Still gotta switch cars at the Timber station. Then it's a straight shot through some nowhere towns."

Judging from his slurring, he'd be out in a few minutes. Sora was too excited to nap. Deciding to let Riku rest, Sora returned to staring out the window and let his mind wander.

He kept imagining the worst about Riku's ribs and his arm—if it was bad, how long were they going to be in Atropos? Not that that was a bad thing, but he didn't want to suffer through surgery or a hundred different shots... Geh, needles. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been to a doctor's office.

By the time Riku fell asleep, Sora was in the middle of envisioning a wrinkled doctor slapping on a pair of blue gloves and telling him not to worry, that the giant scalpel he was going to use on Riku wasn't going to hurt a bit.

The gentle weight of Riku slumping against his shoulder roused him from the daydream, and though Riku's hair was in his face and his sunglasses were still on, he seemed peaceful in his sleep. That calmed Sora, as did the awed smile on his mother's face as she too stared out at the city's sprawling buildings.

He relaxed in his seat and let the drone of the train and the chatter of its passengers soothe his nerves, but nothing beat the comfortable weight of his boyfriend dozing against his good arm.

-o-o-

Riku's doctor was not in fact a wrinkled creep with blue gloves and a giant scalpel.

She was younger than Sora had expected and carried a maternal air about her. Her smile was genuine as she delicately handled Sora's shoulder—and emotions—and chatted with him about where he was from and how he knew Riku. She hardly batted an eyelash when he told her the truth about them dating. She knew Riku well enough to know his sexuality, Sora gathered, and that was all it took for him to relax in her presence.

A trip to radiology confirmed what they had hoped: no breaks, no fractures. Riku only had bruised ribs, and Sora didn't have any bone fragments in the injury. The doctor said he was lucky; he wouldn't need surgery at all. The weird numbness he felt was from stretched tendons and nerve damage because his arm had been dislocated so long.

It wasn't long before Sora was sedated, sitting on a hospital bed, and clutching his mother's hand as the doctor firmly grasped his dislocated arm and, with an expert jerk, set it back into its natural place.

Even sedated, Sora felt it—like a red hot spike being driven into his shoulder.

He bit down on the gag they had provided him, his eyes stinging with tears, and he gripped his mom's hand until his own were bone-white.

The pain ebbed gradually, leaving a throbbing ache in its place.

His mom brushed her fingers through his hair and murmured soothing things to him, and for once, Sora didn't protest the kiddie treatment. As Riku gently wiped his wet lashes for him, he was just grateful it was over.

-o-o-

Sora shook his orange pill bottle and made a face at the number of painkillers inside.

"Can't believe we have to come back in four days..."

Nice doctor or no, he still hated hospitals and needles and pain. He was starting to feel kinda lightheaded from the new medicine, too.

"It's just for a follow-up," Riku said. He squinted and slipped his sunglasses back on as they stepped into the mid-morning sun. "Makes sense. Your arm needs time for the swelling to go down. Then you can start physical therapy for it."

Whether or not Riku had a point, Sora still sulked. He tucked his pills into his cargos and then ran his fingers along his new sling—a real sling, hospital blue and smelling faintly of antiseptic.

Four whole days in Atropos with Riku... And only Riku.

Now that the hospital visit was over, they only had one more stop to make before his mom left them to go on a solo vacation. When Sora had asked her where she would be going, she'd replied with: "To see what's changed," and that she trusted Riku to take care of Sora for a few days. (Sora had a feeling she just wanted them to be alone together...)

Their next destination was an electronics store, where Sora left his mom and Riku to talk to the clerks while he ogled all of the expensive shiny toys lining the walls. He didn't even know what half of them did. The digital cameras, however, definitely caught his eye.

He fiddled with one of the demos that actually worked, impressed with the quality of the previews he was taking. Too bad he didn't have a job or any real cash to his name... Playing with these cameras only fueled his interest in them.

Well, that settled it! He would hold Axel's camera hostage until he could afford one of his own.

Sora was just getting the hang of setting the smile detection when Riku called for him.

"Yo Sora—come pick a color!"

He, his mom, and the clerk were all staring at him as if he were a kid in a candy store. He sorta felt like one. Grinning, he put the camera back and approached the counter, wondering what the heck Riku was talking about.

"A color for—wuhhhh...? What is that?"

Sora blinked down at the row of colorful rectangles sitting on the counter. Were those cell phones? They didn't have any buttons! Looked more like they belonged in a sci-fi movie... Sora had seen Sephiroth with something like this.

"It's the new Gravija," Riku said—not like that actually explained anything except that it was probably super expensive. "Pick a color."

Too drifty from his pain meds to think much about it, he picked the sleek red one with a black keyhole decal on the back. "This one's nice."

Riku picked it up and handed it to the clerk. "All right, this one, too. Give both of them unlimited plans, on my bill."

Wait a sec...

On painkillers or not, Sora understood _that_.

He gaped at Riku. "What are you doing? You can't spend all that money on us!"

Riku's lips curled into that infuriating smirk that made Sora's heart melt like butter.

"Watch me."

Stunned, Sora could only blush as the clerk laughed at them and rang everything up.

-o-o-

Sora was more choked-up than he thought he'd be when he saw his mom board the train to Clotho. It wasn't like she was going away forever, just a mini-vacation, so it didn't make sense for him to get even a little emotional.

But he did.

He figured maybe it was because of all of the things he had learned about his mom recently that he hadn't cared to ask about before. Things about her past, his absent dad, what she would do when he moved out...

Maybe those talks had gotten her thinking, too. Maybe that was why she was going back to her home town.

"You alright?"

Sora finally looked away from the departing train. Riku was watching him with a concerned frown from behind his sunglasses.

Swallowing hard to find his voice, Sora nodded. "Yeah... Don't know what's wrong with me." Maybe it was the meds.

Riku's arm wrapped around his shoulders and tugged him close, his fingers slipping into Sora's hair to give him a gentle pet. "She'll be fine. Didn't you say she was from there?"

"Yeah..."

By the time the train had disappeared behind a distant cluster of buildings, Sora relaxed, soaking in the comfort Riku didn't seem to mind giving him.

Then his pants vibrated and gave a happy chirp.

Jumping, Sora reached into his pocket to grab his new cell phone. "What was _that_?"

"Text message," Riku said with a smirk, taking Sora's hand in his so he could help him navigate the phone. He tapped the screen and helped Sora open the message. "Well, picture message."

It was from his mom.

Worried something had happened, Sora held his breath as the menu opened, and a picture loaded onto the screen.

_Fish-kissies! Miss you already!_

His mom was cross-eyed, making a puckered fish face at the camera.

Oh jeez. All of his worry eased out of him as he sighed.

Riku actually snerked at the photo. "She's already having way too much fun with that thing."

"You're the one who got it for her," Sora pointed out. He started to lower his phone, but Riku took it from him. "Gwah! What are you doing?"

"Sending her something back." Riku gave him a crooked smile. "S'what you're supposed to do, dork."

But as Riku pulled him in for a kiss, and he heard the click of the phone's camera going off, Sora felt more ridiculous than anything.

Riku laughed as he previewed the snapshot, and then showed Sora.

"Aww, you're so cute."

Sora was staring wide-eyed at the camera as Riku smooched him.

Gah... How embarrassing. Was he really going to send that to his _mom_?

Judging from how Riku quickly started typing things on the touchscreen, yes—yes, he was apparently sending it to his mom. Well, at least they knew she'd like it.

Sure enough, just when they were leaving the train platform, Sora received a new message. This time he navigated the phone by himself and opened it.

_TOTALLY using that as my wallpaper!_

Sora mock-glared at Riku. "Great... I think you created a monster."

"Believe me," Riku said with a laugh. "She's probably just getting started."

Still embarrassed but strangely happy, Sora formed a small grin. "As long as she doesn't get herself into trouble."

As he tucked his phone back into his pocket and Riku fondly mussed his hair, he realized how easily the two of them had gotten him to cheer up. He was beginning to understand just how well his mom understood him, even more than he understood himself. Even though she always liked to embarrass him, he saw now that she only did it to keep a smile on his face.

And Riku... That must be why he liked to tease so much. Sora would have to go easier on him from now on.

They headed out of the station together, and when Riku almost tentatively slid his arm around Sora's waist, Sora didn't protest. Riku turned to glance at him in question, but Sora already had a pleased smile waiting for him. _I'm okay with this_, it said.

When Riku returned his smile with a warm one of his own, he knew he'd gotten the silent message.

-o-o-

The hotel clerk didn't even bat an eyelash at them when they bickered over whether or not to get a one bed or two bed room. Sora kept telling Riku it didn't matter, that he didn't mind sharing a bed and that it would be cheaper, but for some reason Riku kept zeroing in on the two bed option.

It wasn't until Sora pouted at him that Riku surrendered.

"Single bed, it is," the clerk said, completely disinterested. She smacked her gum as she rang their room up with Riku's information.

A few minutes later, Riku pushed open the door and handed Sora the extra cardkey.

"Here, just in case I lose mine."

Sora took the key, but instead of entering the room, he leaned in the doorway and blocked it so Riku couldn't pass him. He raised his brows at his boyfriend. "So what was the big deal about one versus two beds?"

Riku paused in the middle of slipping his sunglasses off, and Sora wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not, but for just a second, he seemed almost nervous. "Do I really have to explain?"

"If I could cross my arms right now, I'd do it," Sora said with a frown, gesturing at his sling. "C'mon, what's eating you?"

Sighing, Riku raked his free hand through his hair. "Alright, alright. Let's get inside. It's hot out here."

Sora let him usher him inside, and when Riku closed the door behind him, the frigid air and the darkness of the hotel room greeted them. Riku shuffled to the wall to find a light switch.

"So?" Sora asked.

Riku sighed at his impatience. "There's a couple of reasons." The lights came on, and he dropped their bags onto the large bed in the center of the room. "For one, I didn't want to hurt your arm by rolling over onto you or something." But he hesitated there, lowering his gaze. "And, um..."

His fingers wiped at his sunglasses as if searching for a good distraction. Riku didn't seem to know what to say, so Sora moved to stand closer and peeked up into Riku's face to give him an encouraging smile.

"And, um?"

Riku averted his gaze again and set his glasses onto the night table. "I don't mind us sleeping in the same bed together. It's been nice, the few times we've done it. But..."

Wondering why he was getting shy all of a sudden, Sora gently prodded his chest. "But?"

Another sigh, but Sora's persistence worked. "But it's _frustrating_," Riku admitted. His fingers rested over his bruised ribs as he glanced back up at Sora through his bangs. "I _really _like you, Sora. It's not easy sleeping next to you when all I want to do is touch you, okay?"

Sora didn't shy away from his eyes. Honestly, knowing that Riku was that worried about touching him made him kind of... giddy. Sora didn't want him to be frustrated, but the fact that Riku _was _frustrated—it was exciting. That, and the two of them were going to be all alone in a hotel room for three nights. Sora would have been concerned if Riku hadn't been frustrated in some way.

He reached up without thinking, wanting to reassure Riku somehow. His fingers slid into his silver hair and brushed it out of his eyes.

Though Sora hadn't said anything, the hint of intimacy seemed to spur Riku's anxiety on. "And I _know_ I shouldn't move too fast for you because you're so new to all this. So..." His voice fell into a mumble. "Yeah."

When Riku put it like _that_, Sora could see the appeal of two beds. Whoops.

But even after digesting Riku's worries, Sora still didn't mind the bed thing. He kinda thought it was cute that Riku kept complicating things that should have been super simple. If they ran into any problems, they could deal with them then. Til then, he'd just have to show Riku that he wasn't scared of being near him.

He inched closer, curling his fingers in Riku's shirt. "Well, I'm glad you're honest with me," he said, careful not to touch Riku's ribs. "But we're in this together, right?"

Nodding, Riku started to lower his face, but Sora leaned in to bump noses with him.

"I mean it, Riku!"

Unable to hold it in, Riku released a quiet laugh. "Yeah, we're in this together." He nuzzled his nose back against Sora's.

Sora's smile spread. "Right—so it's okay to do some of the things you want." He slowly pulled back to study Riku's face. "Okay?"

Riku lifted his gaze back to Sora's, silent for several moments, before he formed a subtle smile of his own.

There was acceptance in his eyes—a quiet love. And that, to Sora, was worth whatever embarrassment Riku may put him through as they grew closer.

-o-o-

The hotel room wasn't large, but Sora took his time exploring it, admiring all of the fine details that made it as refined as it was: tiny packages of soap in the bathroom shaped like roses, a black coffee maker so pristine and polished it looked like obsidian, a row of water bottles in the fridge that had names he couldn't even pronounce... Everything seemed kinda untouchable.

Rather, Sora was worried that if he _did _touch something, it would cost Riku extra.

The bed, though—that seemed safe enough.

While Riku stepped onto their balcony to make some calls, Sora bounced on the large bed, surprised at how pillow-like it was, like his butt was sitting on a cloud. It sure beat his old rickety mattress! Riku's bed was nice, but this one was even better.

Sora lay flat on the bed and stretched his good arm out, sighing deep and relaxing in the pure comfort of the cool, cushiony heaven.

Riku's voice drifted through the slightly ajar sliding door, along with a hint of the summer heat.

Atropos was much hotter than Destiny Islands. It didn't have the humidity that the islands did, so the air wasn't nearly as wet—but Atropos didn't have the cool sea breeze to dampen the heat. That would take Sora some getting used to, but he didn't mind. He already loved Atropos from what little he had seen.

The skyscrapers, the hubbub of the streets, the countless shops with everything in them, the vast selection of restaurants and foods Sora had never tried before, the way residents didn't seem to care at all about anyone but themselves—it was all so different from his quiet island community. No, it wasn't as friendly or familiar, the air wasn't as fresh, the streets were noisy and the people were rude... But it was new. Exciting. Maybe it would wear off in a few months, but for right now, Sora was in love with it all.

By the time Riku was done with his phone calls, Sora had kicked off his shoes and made a nest of all the pillows and was searching the hundreds of channels on the flat screen TV for something he might like. The sound of the balcony door closing made him look up.

"Hey Riku, some of the movies on here haven't even left Balamb's theater yet!" he said with a grin.

But then he saw the irritated edge to Riku's frown.

"What happened?"

Riku slowly approached the bed, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Sephiroth wants me to come in tomorrow... for our Big Talk, since I'm in town anyway."

So Sephiroth wanted to do business even though Riku was still on vacation? No wonder Riku was miffed. Plus—Sora had a good idea what the talk was going to be about. He hadn't forgotten what Sephiroth had told Riku before he'd left; Riku's "expiration date" as a model must have been a touchy subject. He wondered what Sephiroth had planned for him...

"Anyway." Brows knitted, Riku looked away. "It's probably not going to take long, so..." Hesitant, but hopeful, he gave Sora a sidelong glance. "Do you want to go with me?"

Sora's heart leapt.

Him? Go see Riku's work? With all those models and photographers and Sephiroth's empire?

Sora broke into an excited grin. "Totally!"

Though Riku seemed ill at ease about Sora's eagerness, he laughed at him anyway. "You're so cute," he said with a fond smile. "All right. But I'm gonna have to give you a small makeover. Otherwise I'll never hear the end of it..."

Wait—

What was that supposed to mean? Never hear the end of what?

Oh, but Sora did dress too casually compared to Riku. No doubt Riku wanted to make sure Sora didn't seem like a bum in comparison.

Geh.

That left Sora with only one concern.

Pursing his lips, he decided to ask. "I don't have to wear makeup, do I?"

Riku's smile twisted with amusement.

Without gracing him with an answer, he curled a hand in Sora's shirt and pulled him in for a kiss. It was sweet, a gentle glide of lips and a teasing nibble on his bottom lip, and it left Sora both wanting more and wondering what it all meant.

Then Riku pulled back, his fingers trailing through Sora's messy hair, and murmured to him.

"Get some rest. I'll order us some food, okay?"

Placated by the prospect of food and sleep, Sora forgot all about the makeover thing. Gimp arm or not, he was feeling on top of the world.

Flopping back onto the cushy bed, Sora smiled and closed his eyes, feeling his heart soar inside of him.

-o-o-

Sora obeyed the doctor's orders and got plenty of rest and tried not to strain his arm too much. Being lazy was easy. He spent the rest of the afternoon sprawled out in the bed watching TV, with or without Riku, who often got up to make calls.

They ate pizza for lunch and "something different" for dinner, as per Sora's request—and Sora had no idea what it was that he ate, because he sure as heck couldn't read whatever name was on the takeout box. It was delicious, just _spicy_, and Riku laughed at his efforts to soothe the fire in his mouth by chugging water.

When the sun had finally set, Sora was feeling restless. Riku promised him that he wouldn't keep Sora indoors for the next three days, but Sora understood why they had wasted today in the hotel. Riku's ribs needed time to heal, as did Sora's arm. Sora doubted that Riku would be completely better tomorrow, either, so he'd have to keep a close eye on him to make sure he got enough rest during the day.

"When we're done with Seph, I'll take you to my favorite spot," Riku said, stifling a yawn. In the background, the weatherman was droning on about tomorrow's sunny skies. It would be raining on Destiny Islands. "It's a small coffee shop. I used to go there all the time to get away from it all—from my aunt, from school, from my problems..."

Sora rested on his good arm, watching his boyfriend's sleepy expression. Though they had shut the lamps off, the light of the TV flickered across Riku's face, and Sora saw the faraway look in his eyes.

"I'd like that," Sora said, hoping to encourage him. He liked it when Riku opened up to him. Dragging answers out of Riku's friends and ex-boyfriends was fun, but he found it far more satisfying hearing things straight from Riku.

Riku's eyes slid shut. "Me, too..."

About that time, the weatherman had moved on to the weekly forecast, highlighting the rising temperatures. Sora couldn't believe August was almost over. Soon, the new school year would be starting, and Sora wouldn't be attending it. He'd be moving in with Riku...

"You know..."

Sora blinked out of his sleepy reverie as Riku's quiet voice filled the silence.

"Hmm?"

"Squall's birthday is in a few days. I... almost forgot it. We might miss it..."

The way Riku said it, he sounded so sad.

Sora mulled over those words and his tone, trying to figure it out. Sora knew Squall was really important to Riku, but he still didn't know their story. No doubt there was something in their past that had made them super loyal to each other, at least as friends. Whether or not Squall really did love-love Riku, he had stuck around, even after Sora had gotten with Riku. He was a good friend...

"We can get him something special while we're here," Sora suggested. "And try to make it back in time to see him on his birthday."

Squall didn't seem like the type to make a big deal about his birthday. He probably didn't like telling people. But Sora couldn't shake the feeling that Squall would have been upset if Riku had forgotten.

"Yeah. We'll head back to the islands right after we get your arm checked out," Riku agreed. He sounded more confident now. "We can get him something from you, too..." He turned to meet Sora's gaze, smiling a secretive little smile. "He pretends to get annoyed when people give him gifts, but he secretly likes it."

Sora couldn't help grinning at that. "Then let's tell everyone, so he gets lots of gifts!"

Riku's lips spread into a matching grin. "He's gonna kill us."

Then the two of them broke into sleepy chuckles, imagining Squall glaring at a giant pile of presents.

-o-o-

Something woke him. He didn't know what.

When Sora stirred awake, he wasn't even sure _where_ he was, but everything came drifting back to him when he saw the silhouette of his new phone sitting on the bedside table.

Right. Atropos. Hotel room. Riku.

Riku?

He stretched his good arm out to feel the sheets beside him—empty—and then squinted into the beam of light that was coming from the bathroom. Riku was probably going pee...

Rolling over, Sora snuggled into the spot Riku had been sleeping. Mmm, the sheets were still warm from his body heat. He breathed deep and let his eyes drift closed, trying not to think about anything at all.

Basking in the ultimate comfort, he teetered at the edge of sleep for minutes before another sound startled him back into awareness.

The sink?

Moments later, the bathroom light switched off. Feet shuffled towards the bed.

Sora pretended to be asleep when Riku slipped back under the sheets with him, and as he lay down, Sora caught a waft of generic soap and something else... Lotion?

Then Riku curled up with his back towards Sora.

Earlier, they had fallen asleep with Riku's arm around him, and Sora was a little disappointed Riku's arm didn't slip back around his waist. Riku probably didn't want to risk waking him.

Deciding not to think much about it, Sora let the rhythmic sound of Riku's breathing ease him back to sleep.

-o-o-

Sora woke up the next morning to the warmth of Riku's breath gusting over his neck. Humming, he snuggled close to the warm body beneath his own, too sleepy to realize what was really going on, and his fingers curled more tightly into the sheets he was clutching.

Only... they weren't sheets.

A leg shifted beneath his hand, and that was when Sora groggily lifted his face to look.

His hand was clenched near Riku's inner thigh, grasping a handful of his sleeping pants, and Riku was pinned beneath him.

Sora had no clue how they'd ended up like this, but one thing was for sure—

Riku's blush was extremely cute.

The look on his face was somewhere between trapped and turned on.

Sora sleepily grinned down at him. "Morning?"

The embarrassed edge to those green eyes softened with affection, then acceptance. "Do you have any idea what a tease you are?" Riku asked in a husky voice.

Thrown off by the question, Sora blinked. "No?"

Riku averted his gaze. "Didn't think so."

Now that Sora was awake, Riku shifted out from beneath him and stiffly got out of bed.

Sora watched his every movement, openly studying his toned body, from the muscles of his lean back hidden by the bandages, to the dip of his abdomen leading into the sleeping pants sitting dangerously low on his hips, his firm thighs moving beneath the thin material...

And his prominent hard-on.

Suddenly, the pieces fell into place.

All the hints Sora had found strange about his behavior—Riku's worry about sleeping in one bed together, his mysterious visit to the bathroom last night...

Riku _had _told him he was frustrated, but hearing it and seeing it were completely different. It looked like Riku hadn't slept a wink last night, and Sora realized then that was probably _his _fault again for liking to take up the entire bed. Somehow he must've taken over Riku's side of the bed, too.

Oh man, poor Riku.

Sora eyed Riku's tented pants and felt guilty for accidentally being such a—well—_tease_, as Riku had said.

Riku shuffled towards the bathroom, avoiding Sora's gaze. "Be out in a few."

He disappeared into the bathroom and left the door open just a crack.

An anxious flutter grew inside of Sora as he wavered, silently debating with himself about how to breach this problem. He'd already told Riku it was okay to be honest and do some of the things he wanted to do, but Riku still seemed hesitant to draw Sora into things too quickly.

Sora sucked in a deep breath and held it, trying to calm his racing heart, before he slid out of bed to follow him.

He had to admit: he was nervous. But there was a first for everything. If Riku was too concerned to take the initiative, Sora would have to prove to him it was okay.

He quietly pushed open the bathroom door with his good hand and hesitated in the threshold.

Riku's heavy breaths punctuated the air. Bowed over the sink basin, he clutched the edge with a bone-white grip, the outline of his other hand stroking with a clear rhythm beneath his loose sleeping pants.

His back was towards the door, but Sora had seen all he'd needed. If he'd had any doubts before, they vanished at the sight of Riku's frustrated quickie.

This was it.

Filled with resolve, Sora was silent as he approached Riku at the bathroom sink.

The heat of Riku's body was almost feverish as Sora pressed close behind him and cupped his hand over the hard lump trapped beneath the soft material of Riku's pants.

Riku jumped, a husky gasp leaving him, and the surprised look on Riku's reflection as he gaped at Sora was priceless. Sora peeked over Riku's shoulder and offered him a small grin in the mirror, too nervous for much else. He was blushing almost as much as Riku was.

Then, just as Riku seemed to be working up the coherency to say something, Sora slipped his hand into Riku's pants.

Riku's entire body stiffened, but he didn't fight the tentative fingers that brushed against the head of his hard-on.

Their eyes met in the mirror.

The heated green of Riku's gaze sent Sora's pulse racing.

Riku swallowed hard, and Sora knew then he was just as nervous as he was.

He pushed Riku's hand away and closed his fingers around his erection.

Riku's breath caught, and he felt his own heart flutter with excitement.

So many thoughts spiraled through his mind in that moment—that this was his first time touching someone else let alone another guy, that Riku looked_ really _hot when he looked at him like this, that there was something surreal about actually feeling Riku's pulse beneath his fingertips—but it all brought Sora to the same conclusion.

As new and nerve-wrecking as this was, he liked seeing this side of Riku.

He stroked his thumb against the heated skin, just to feel Riku shudder against him, and fell in love with the quiet gasp that left his boyfriend's lips. Another stroke, adding more fingers, and he felt his confidence rise with every twitch Riku made, both of those pale hands gripping the sink basin now.

A third stroke, this time with his whole hand caressing the areas _he _liked to be touched.

For the first time, he witnessed the complete meltdown of Riku's defenses as he freely gave in to his arousal—the wanton look on his face, the trembling of his arms as he clutched the sink, the full blush on his cheeks, the eagerness of his hips as he tried to thrust into Sora's fingers, and the low groan that resounded deep inside of him.

Heat blossomed inside of Sora like Riku had just punched a hidden on-switch, filling him with that same intoxicating feeling he got whenever Riku touched him.

There was nothing else like it in the world—the unexpected realization that something like this was real. He was touching Riku and Riku _liked _it.

It was a boundary that couldn't be uncrossed, but Sora didn't care. He wouldn't deny that he was getting turned on by all of this. Exhilarated, he tightened his grip around Riku and continued to stroke, creating an easy rhythm for him to rock his hips into.

And experienced or not, Riku was still clumsy in his excitement, trembling hard with each thrust as if fighting off an early climax. His soft groans echoed in the small bathroom, fueling the thrill of it all, and Sora lost himself in those amazing sounds, wanting to hear more.

Having all the control for once, Sora didn't waste a single opportunity.

His hand glided against his hot skin, stroking, squeezing, tracing all of his own favorite spots, trying to draw Riku wherever he wanted him, and it worked even better than it worked on himself. Certain areas with just the right amount of pressure had Riku squirming in anticipation and encouraging Sora with heady gasps.

Sora lost himself in admiring Riku's reactions, so spellbound by his boyfriend's rare vulnerability that he was completely caught off guard when Riku actually climaxed.

He bucked against Sora's hand with a husky cry, the sound sending heated shivers through Sora's body.

Then all of the tension melted out of Riku, his arms going slack, and Sora yelped as his boyfriend collapsed against the sink. He pulled Riku close so he wouldn't crack his head against the faucet.

Riku relaxed there against Sora's chest and took his time catching his breath.

Wordless, Sora just held him until one of them gathered his wits. He was still reeling from making the first move, but if this is how Riku felt whenever he cornered and touched Sora, Sora couldn't blame him for doing it...

The empowerment and satisfaction of being the one responsible for driving Riku wild and bringing him to completion? Yeah, Sora understood now. Not to mention how cute Riku could get, hehe.

As Riku's breathing gradually evened out, it occurred to Sora to find a towel and help clean him off. Unfortunately, the towels were closer to his sling-bound arm. When he pulled away from Riku to get one, a hand closed around his wrist to stop him.

Once again, Sora met Riku's gaze in their reflection, and Riku formed an unusual smile—tentative, maybe a little embarrassed, but with definite fulfillment and pride. Pride for _him_.

If Riku was happy, so was he.

Sora returned his smile. "Feel better now?"

A somewhat lazy smirk was his answer. "I could get used to this."

_Yeah, I bet he could. _

That must have been written on his face because Riku laughed at him and released his wrist, beginning to take off his loose pants. "Could you order some breakfast from room service?" Off came the underwear, too. "Gonna take a shower."

Sora didn't hide his staring as he drank in the sight of Riku's completely nude body.

Oh man, and Riku was still smirking at him. He was doing this on purpose!

Sora swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat as his body reacted to Riku's shameless stripping.

"Uh... y-yeah. Enjoy your—um—shower."

Riku just chuckled and stepped into the shower stall, closing the glass door behind him. He knew what he was doing to Sora. He didn't even have to tease him to get a reaction anymore.

Once he heard the water start, Sora quickly washed his hands and left the bathroom, all the while hoping Riku hadn't noticed how hard _he _had made Sora.

-o-o-

Breakfast was delicious and, thankfully, uneventful.

Sora had been expecting some sort of tension between them after the bathroom encounter, but Riku didn't bring it up. Because of that, Sora felt no pressure from what he had done. He was just glad he had been able to do Riku a favor. He seemed more laid-back than he had been in days.

Once Sora's belly was full, Riku ushered him to take a shower, "So I can spoil you rotten!" he told him.

Sora didn't know what else Riku could possibly spoil him with besides being his boyfriend, buying him a sexy phone, and paying for his not-so-sexy medical bills.

How little he knew.

Riku dragged him to what must have been a dozen stores (alright, maybe just four), where all of the clerks knew Riku's name and seemed to take great pleasure in poking and prodding at Sora like he was a prime specimen of fresh meat. They made him try on countless outfits that Sora was even afraid to touch because of their lofty price tags.

He recognized the designer names from the magazines he had been drooling over for the past two weeks—Dogstreet, Starberry, Destiny'woven, even Ars Arcanum... He couldn't believe Riku trusted him enough to even breathe on some of this stuff!

But aside from frowning at some of the Arc-brand stuff ("It's the designer that bothers me, not the price," Riku reassured him), Riku let Sora pick out the items he liked the most. Sora had to admit: he did feel spoiled rotten, like a fat gull being hand fed by tourists.

He didn't even fight Riku when he dragged him back to the hotel to do his hair.

Sora couldn't name some of the gadgets Riku expertly swept through his hair, tugging and pressing and parting the clumps in ways that made absolutely no sense to Sora, who honestly saw nothing wrong with his hair in the first place.

When Riku was finally done, Sora blinked at himself in the mirror.

He hardly recognized himself.

Riku stood behind him, adding finishing touches to his straightened hair.

Sora had never had his hair this straight before, and he hadn't had a clue it was long enough to put into a squat ponytail. His bangs and eartails had been left loose to frame his face, but that only made him look—

"Cute."

In their reflection, Riku was wearing a crooked smirk as he fixed Sora's smoothed bangs.

Geh.

Sora frowned.

_Cute._ That was the last thing he wanted to be.

But Riku seemed to like it, so he tried to put up with the subtle torture.

That is, until Riku reached for what looked like a pencil. Sora had spent too many sleepovers with the girls to still be clueless about make-up. He knew what was coming next.

"Ack! No _way_, Riku!"

"Yes way."

When he saw the resolute edge to Riku's expression, he knew he wasn't gonna take no for an answer. Was this payback for making Riku squirm earlier this morning?

Wilting, Sora accepted his fate with a pout.

However, judging from the affectionate kiss Riku pressed to the crook of his neck, giving in to Riku more often might not be such a bad fate after all.

-o-o-

When Riku led him up the polished steps leading into Jenova Enterprises, Sora felt like he was walking into a trap.

He knew—_knew_—he stood out like a sore thumb. He wasn't meant for glamorous clothes or hairstyles or make-up. He was Sora. Just Sora. Still, he did his best to hold his chin high and walk with confidence and sophistication as he followed Riku through the gleaming revolving doors.

But all of that feigned narcissism seeped right out of him when he froze to gape at the sheer luxury of the foyer.

An elegant chandelier cascaded from the ceiling, making the glossy stone floor and dark walls shimmer with its beauty. A fountain stood in the very center of the atrium, water delicately arching around a beautiful marble statue of a goddess-like woman caught in mid-dance, her delicate hands lifted as if trying to catch the stars.

Ginormous photographs spanned sections of the curved walls, some taller than Riku and Sora combined, depicting a myriad of different but striking subjects—an athlete on his knees with his arms spread towards the sky, his face caught between pain and bliss as he basked in a hard-won victory; an intense close-up of a hawk, its mottled wings spread as it sank its talons into its unsuspecting prey, a rodent twisted on its back in its struggle to escape; an ethereal woman in a flowing white gown sitting peacefully on an old swing in an abandoned, decaying playground; an aged couple holding hands as they passed through a colorful, crowded open-aired food market; and a gorgeous nude man lounging shamelessly on a mountain of different magazines, many of which Sora recognized as belonging to Sephiroth's company—maybe even all of them.

A wide reception desk, circular and made of flawless wood, sat close to a grand staircase that had photographs for steps and curved up to a second floor of the atrium where more large photographs spanned across the dark walls. The waiting area, which was tucked in a stylish nook created by the impressive staircase, was complete with a large flatscreen television, leather sofas, and an entire wall of magazines.

About a dozen people were in the foyer—some waiting, others wandering and admiring the décor, and a few passing through. It was obvious, even to Sora, who worked there versus who was just visiting; it was all in their style—their hair, their clothes, their shoes, their _walk_. Sora had never felt so out of place in his life.

Riku also stood out, but only because he was _Riku_. He'd reverted back to his usual city style—dark designer pants from Ars Arcanum, an elegant shirt that probably cost more than Sora's state-of-the-art phone, short boots that looked like they belonged in an issue of Pumpkinhead.

Yeah, Riku was Riku, and not only did he look great and natural in everything he wore, he wore it with confidence as he headed straight for the reception desk, ignoring all of the appreciative glances aimed in his direction. On the other hand, hardly anyone glanced at Sora, and for that, he was grateful.

The receptionist was an angelic young woman with short black hair, porcelain skin, and lips as glossy red as a washed apple. Her short-sleeved yellow top was simple yet professional, and Sora had to wonder if being good-looking and stylish was a requirement to work here...

Riku was only halfway across the foyer before she spotted him, and her face lit up with the friendliest smile Sora had ever seen, rivaling even Aerith's.

"Welcome back, Mr. Edenbrook!" she said with genuine cheer. Then, spotting Sora, she added, "And with a cute guest, I see!"

When she flashed him her warm smile, butterflies danced through Sora's gut. And he had thought _Kairi_ was adorable! Maybe he had a soft spot for girls with really nice smiles?

But then Riku returned her greeting with a smile that could charm the devil, and Sora felt his insides turn to mush. All right—girls were cute, but there was still no doubt in Sora's mind that Riku would always, _always _be his favorite. Was it possible to fall head over heels for the same person over and over again?

Caught in an admiring daze, Sora watched Riku and the receptionist exchange words and smiles with each other, Riku complimenting her on her new hair, the receptionist teasing him about his slight sunburn. By the time the pleasant conversation was over with, Sora was being handed a laminated visitor's badge, and she was cheerfully waving them off and wishing them luck.

Sora had no idea what really had been said between the two of them—most of his attention had been on how downright sexy Riku could become at the drop of a hat, and he did it so naturally it was scary!

As Riku led him away from the circular desk, Sora realized he couldn't even remember the receptionist's name—Flower? Star? Snow? Snow sounded right...

"She was really nice," Sora noted as they climbed the grand staircase together. He hoped everyone else was as welcoming, but somehow he had a feeling reality would have some surprises for him.

He was right.

"She is," Riku agreed with a laugh. "And you know, she totally flirted with you while you were zoned out."

Wait a sec—

"Wha—she did?" Sora asked, blinking in confusion. "When? Huh?"

How had he managed to miss _that_?

Riku just smirked at him from over his shoulder, and Sora tried not to blush. He was definitely out of his element. And why would Riku tease him with something like that when they were together?

Once on the second floor of the foyer, Riku was stopped by a pair of people leaving the elevator. Judging from the supplies they were carrying, they were hair stylists, and neither of them spared Sora a second glance as they began chatting with Riku as if they'd known him for years.

Wondering why he was being ignored, Sora figured that maybe he didn't stand out as much as he'd feared.

Granted, he looked _tame _compared to Riku, wearing just a designer hoodie beneath a casual blazer (that effectively hid most of his sling), expensive dark jeans, and name-brand shoes. Maybe he was too normal for most of the people here to care, even if this "normal" was a completely different style for him.

Thankfully, Riku didn't chat long with the hair stylists. He was as charming as usual, but he quickly dropped Sephiroth's name into the conversation and mentioned his encroaching meeting.

The discussion came to an immediate halt, and the stylists exchanged serious looks with each other. Apparently, that's all it took to end the conversation—they understood not to make Sephiroth wait.

They wished Riku luck and left together.

Though Sora expected Riku to say something about them, he didn't.

It wasn't until they were inside the vacated elevator that Riku finally sighed and relaxed against the wall. The doors swooshed closed, and he stared down at the row of numbers for a long moment before he punched in the number for the top floor, reluctantly, as if sealing his fate.

The elevator purred to life, and a soft orchestrated melody filled the silence between them. The number of floors climbed on the digital display, and Riku's eyes were trained to those red numbers as if they counted to his doom.

After a few seconds, Sora couldn't stand the tension anymore. He didn't know what the impending appointment with Sephiroth was all about, so he didn't know what to say to ease Riku's nerves... But that didn't stop him from talking.

"Hey—I was wondering."

Drawn out of his reverie, Riku glanced at him. "Hm?"

"What was the point of all of this if almost everyone's just gonna ignore me?" Sora asked, gesturing at his clothes. "After all that work this morning..."

At that, Riku cracked a small smile. "Goof. I dressed you up so they _wouldn't _look at you." His attention returned to the Sephiroth Countdown. "Trust me—anything more or less than that, you would've gotten a lot of unwanted attention."

Ohhh. In other words, _Riku_ would have gotten a lot of unwanted attention. He was covering his own butt as well as Sora's.

As the elevator rose higher, Riku began to fidget, his hands smoothing out his clothes as if he didn't already look perfect. Sora would have teased him if the elevator hadn't begun to slow down.

Riku scowled as the car came to a stop just a floor below their destination. "Damn it..." He stood straight and shifted closer to Sora, his entire posture suddenly rigid.

Somehow, Sora sensed Riku wasn't disgruntled because they hadn't reached Sephiroth's office; rather, there was something on _this _floor that had him spooked.

The elevator gave a happy ding as the doors slid open, and Sora froze, eyes wide, as he realized where Riku's tension had come from.

He'd only seen one picture of him before, but it was hard to forget someone as distinctive as the man waiting to step onto the elevator.

That serious, handsome face.

Long silky hair even whiter than Sephiroth's.

Milk chocolate skin.

Relatively young and dressed to kill.

Sora immediately recognized him.

The creator of Ars Arcanum, and Riku's fifth (evil) ex-boyfriend.

Ansem's lionlike eyes focused on Riku, and a darkly delighted smile curled at his lips.

"Welcome back... Riku."

-o-o-

* * *

(The Scott Pilgrim-ish reference at the end was entirely accidental at first. Then after I wrote it, I burst into laughter and decided I had to keep it.)

I know it's been a long time... But let me know you still exist! Comments, Critiques, Review?


End file.
